CHILDREN’S DATA PROTECTION - COPPA & FERPA Compliance Disclosures

Introduction

Worksheetzone.org (“Worksheetzone,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is an AI-powered online education platform serving teachers, schools, students, and parents. Our Platform provides tools to create, customize, and share educational materials—including worksheets, lesson plans, quizzes, coloring pages, interactive activities, class management, and auto-grading—across all subjects and grade levels.

Because our Platform is used within K–12 educational settings and may be accessed by children under 13, we maintain strict compliance with two key U.S. federal laws that govern children’s data:

• COPPA — the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (15 U.S.C. §§6501–6506; 16 C.F.R. Part 312)
• FERPA — the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. §1232g; 34 CFR Part 99)

This page is a dedicated supplement to our Privacy Policy (worksheetzone.org/privacy-policy) and Terms of Service (worksheetzone.org/terms-of-service). In the event of any conflict between this page and our general Privacy Policy regarding children’s data, the protections in this page shall prevail.

PART I — COPPA COMPLIANCE

1. Who This Section Applies To

This COPPA section applies whenever Worksheetzone has actual knowledge that a user is under the age of 13 (“Child” or “Children”). Our Platform is designed primarily for use by educators and schools, but we recognize that students—including Children—interact with the Platform when completing worksheets, taking quizzes, joining interactive sessions via class codes, and engaging with AI-powered learning tools.

2. What Information We Collect from Children

We limit the personal information collected from Children to the minimum reasonably necessary for participation in Platform activities. Below is an exhaustive list of the categories we may collect:

*We do NOT collect from Children: photographs, video or audio files, precise geolocation, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, financial information, or any biometric data.*

3. How We Obtain Verifiable Parental Consent

COPPA requires us to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from Children. We employ the following mechanisms:

a) School-Based Consent (“School Official” Exception)

When a teacher or school administrator creates student accounts and directs Children to use the Platform as part of a school-authorized educational activity, the school acts as the parent’s agent for purposes of COPPA consent. Under this exception:

• The school or teacher authorizes collection on behalf of the parent, solely for educational use.
• Personal information is collected and used only for the educational purpose for which the school engaged us.
• We do not use information collected under school consent for any commercial purpose unrelated to the educational service.
• Schools must accept our Terms of Service and this COPPA disclosure before creating student accounts.
• Schools are responsible for providing notice to parents about their use of Worksheetzone and must facilitate parental requests to access, review, or delete their child’s data.

b) Direct Parental Consent (Non-School Use)

For Children who access the Platform outside of a school setting (e.g., a parent registers a child for home use), we require verifiable parental consent through one or more of these FTC-approved methods:

• Email Plus: We send a detailed consent notice to the parent’s email describing the data to be collected. The parent must reply to confirm consent, and we follow up with a confirmation message providing opt-out instructions.
• Signed Consent Form: A printable or electronic consent form that the parent signs and returns via email or upload.
• Payment Verification: Where a transaction is involved, the credit card authorization process serves as consent verification.

No personal information beyond a parent’s email address (to send the consent request) is collected from the Child before consent is obtained.

4. How We Use Children’s Information

Children’s personal information is used exclusively for educational purposes:

• Delivering and operating the Platform’s educational features (worksheets, quizzes, interactive activities, auto-grading).
• Generating progress reports and performance analytics for teachers and parents.
• Providing AI-powered personalized learning recommendations based on educational performance data.
• Maintaining Platform security and preventing abuse.
• Supporting internal operations as permitted under COPPA (e.g., frequency capping, ensuring site integrity, aggregate analytics).

*We NEVER use Children’s personal information for: targeted advertising, behavioral profiling, creating public-facing profiles, or any non-educational commercial purpose.*

5. Disclosure of Children’s Information to Third Parties

We do not sell, rent, or lease Children’s personal information. We share it only in these limited circumstances:

• Service Providers (Processors): Trusted vendors who process data strictly on our behalf under written contracts requiring confidentiality and data protection (e.g., cloud hosting infrastructure, analytics supporting internal operations). These providers may not use Children’s data for any other purpose.
• Authorized School Officials: Teachers and administrators associated with the child’s class receive educational performance data.
• Parents/Guardians: Parents may access their child’s data upon verified request.
• Legal Compliance: When required by law, regulation, valid legal process, or enforceable governmental request.
• Child Safety: When necessary to protect the safety of a Child or the security of the Platform.

6. AI Features and Children’s Data

Worksheetzone uses artificial intelligence across multiple Platform features, including worksheet generation, quiz creation, auto-grading, and personalized learning recommendations. When these AI features process Children’s data:

• AI processing is strictly limited to delivering educational services.
• Children’s data is not used to train generalized or third-party AI/machine learning models.
• AI-driven recommendations are based on educational performance patterns (e.g., which question types a student answered correctly), not behavioral or demographic profiling.
• Schools and parents may request that AI-powered personalization be disabled for a child while continuing to use core Platform features.

7. Parental Rights Under COPPA

If you are a parent or legal guardian of a Child who uses Worksheetzone, you have the following rights:

To exercise any right: Email [email protected] with the subject line “COPPA Parent Request.” We will verify your identity and relationship to the Child before processing. For school-managed accounts, parents should first contact their child’s school, which will coordinate with us.

8. Data Retention for Children’s Data

• We retain Children’s data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the educational purpose for which it was collected.
• For school-managed accounts: data is retained for the duration of the school’s active use of the Platform, plus up to 60 days after termination for deletion processing.
• For direct (parent-managed) accounts: data is deleted promptly upon parental request or when the account is no longer active.
• Inactive Children’s accounts are subject to deletion after 12 months of inactivity, with advance notice sent to the parent or school.
• De-identified, aggregated data that cannot identify any individual child may be retained for analytics and service improvement.

PART II — FERPA COMPLIANCE

1. Worksheetzone’s Role Under FERPA

When a school or school district authorizes the use of Worksheetzone, we function as a “school official” with a “legitimate educational interest” under 34 CFR §99.31(a)(1). This means:

• We perform an institutional service or function for which the school would otherwise use its own employees.
• We act under the direct control of the school with respect to the use and maintenance of education records.
• We use personally identifiable information (PII) from education records only for the purposes for which the school authorized us.
• We are subject to the same FERPA re-disclosure restrictions that apply to other school officials.

Our relationship with each school is governed by our Terms of Service and, where applicable, a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) that formalizes these commitments.

2. Education Records We Process

In the course of providing educational services, we may access or process the following types of education records on behalf of partner schools:

• Student names, usernames, or school-assigned identifiers.
• Class rosters and enrollment data.
• Assignment submissions and worksheet responses.
• Quiz answers, scores, and auto-grading results.
• Progress tracking data and performance analytics.
• Teacher-created materials associated with specific students or classes.
• AI-generated learning recommendations linked to student performance.

3. Strict Limitations on Use of Education Records

We commit to the following enforceable limitations:

4. Rights of Parents and Eligible Students

Under FERPA, parents of students under 18—and students aged 18+ or enrolled in post-secondary education (“eligible students”)—have the following rights with respect to education records:

• Inspect and Review: The right to inspect and review the student’s education records. Requests should be directed to the school; we will cooperate with the school in providing timely access to records we maintain on its behalf.
• Request Amendment: The right to request correction of education records believed to be inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the student’s privacy rights.
• Consent to Disclosure: The right to consent to disclosures of PII from education records, except where FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent (e.g., to school officials with legitimate educational interests).
• File a Complaint: The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education regarding alleged FERPA violations:
  Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202

5. Data Security for Education Records

We maintain industry-standard administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect education records:

• Encryption of all data in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest (AES-256 or equivalent).
• Role-based access controls ensuring only authorized personnel access student data.
• Regular security audits, penetration testing, and vulnerability assessments.
• Monitoring and logging of access to education records.
• Employee background checks, confidentiality agreements, and ongoing data privacy training.
• Incident response plan with defined escalation procedures.

6. Data Retention and Deletion of Education Records

We retain education records only for the duration necessary to provide the contracted educational services, or as required by applicable law.

• During Active Use: Records are maintained for the duration of the school’s active subscription or authorized use of the Platform.
• Upon Termination: Within 60 days of contract termination or upon school request, we will return education records in a standard format and/or securely delete them from our systems.
• Confirmation: We provide written confirmation of deletion upon request.
• De-Identified Data: We may retain de-identified, aggregated data that cannot reasonably identify any individual student, for analytics and service improvement.

7. Breach Notification

In the event of a security incident affecting education records, we will:

• Notify promptly: Alert the affected school(s) without unreasonable delay, and no later than 72 hours after confirmed discovery of the breach.
• Provide details: Share sufficient information for the school to assess the nature, scope, and potential impact of the breach.
• Cooperate: Assist the school in fulfilling its notification obligations to affected parents and students under applicable federal and state breach notification laws.
• Remediate: Take immediate steps to contain, investigate, and remediate the incident, and implement measures to prevent recurrence.

PART III — SHARED PROVISIONS

1. Relationship to Other Worksheetzone Policies

This COPPA & FERPA Compliance page operates alongside and supplements the following Worksheetzone policies:

In the event of any conflict between this page and our general Privacy Policy regarding the collection, use, or disclosure of Children’s personal information or student education records, the more protective provision shall prevail.

2. Changes to This Page

We may update this COPPA & FERPA Compliance page to reflect changes in our practices, applicable law, or regulatory guidance. When material changes are made:

• We will post the updated version at this URL with a revised “Last Updated” date.
• We will notify partner schools in writing at least 30 days before material changes affecting education records take effect.
• For changes affecting Children’s data practices, we will obtain new verifiable parental consent where required by COPPA.
• We will send email notification to registered users about material changes.

3. Contact Us

For any questions, concerns, or requests related to Children’s privacy or student education records: