Ensuring Student Data Privacy and Compliance with NYS EdLaw 2-d

The New York State Education Department’s Chief Privacy Officer has recently informed school districts that certain Google services, categorized as “Additional Services,” are not covered under the statewide Data Privacy Agreement (DPA). As a result, these services are not compliant with NYS Education Law 2-d and must be disabled for student accounts.

Important Note: This change will not impact how teachers access these services at this time.

What Are the Changes?

Google Core Services Remain Accessible:

These tools are vital for collaborative learning and will remain fully functional and accessible. Students and teachers will continue to use essential Google Core Services, including:

• Gmail
• Google Classroom
• Google Drive
• Google Docs
• Google Slides
• Google Sheets
• Google Forms
• Google Calendar

Google Additional Services Restricted for students:

This includes the following impacted services:

• YouTube

• Google Earth
• Google Translate
• Applied Digital Skills

• Blogger

• Google Arts and Culture

• Google Bookmarks

• Google Books

• Google Maps

• Google My Maps

• Google News

• Google Photos

• Google Search Console

• Managed Google Play

• Material Gallery

We recognize that disabling access to these services, particularly YouTube, Google Earth, and Google Translate, will significantly impact classroom activities.  The district staff is identifying workarounds to meet the needs of our students.  In particular, we know that many students rely upon Google Translate.

Effective Date

Student access to the services listed above, including YouTube, will be disabled as of 2/28/25.

Next Steps for Staff:

• Familiarize yourself with the list of accessible and restricted services.
• Utilize embedded YouTube videos within Google Classroom for instructional purposes.
• Direct students to utilize the translation features within Google Core Apps.
• Ensure that student data is not placed into the restricted applications.

Questions?

If you have any questions or require further clarification, please contact the Technology Department.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support in maintaining a safe and secure learning environment for our students.