October 24, 2024
Dear Valued Parents:
As a result of the new Ohio Senate Bill 29 legislation, this letter serves as the District’s annual technology privacy notice, consistent with Ohio Revised Code Sections 3319.325 -.327. In the future, this notice will be sent prior to August 1st of each school year.
A list of all technology providers that have access to students’ educational records for the purpose of providing curriculum, testing, and/or assessment services will be available on the
MVCSD EdTech Website under
Digital Resources in the near future. Please note that this list is a work in progress. We are also in the process of updating our student privacy agreements with technology providers to ensure that student data is handled securely, not shared for commercial purposes, and is properly protected.
Mount Vernon City School District utilizes filtering and monitoring software, such as Lightspeed Systems and Cisco Umbrella, to help safeguard the content that can be accessed by students and staff on the district’s network and devices. This practice includes the general monitoring of all school-issued devices (as that term is defined by R.C. 3319.325). General monitoring of online activity includes features such as location tracking and student interactions with school-issued devices (e.g., keystrokes and web-browsing activity). The intent of these features is for non-commercial, educational purposes, such as instruction, technical support, and/or exam proctoring. Additionally, this practice is a necessary precaution for preventing and/or responding to threats to life or safety. Please note that our district has not implemented any new monitoring services or changed any existing ones. As we value your partnership in ensuring digital safety, if a concern arises about your child, a staff member will reach out to you to discuss the specific situation.
Please be assured that our district will continue to follow all applicable state and federal laws, such as the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), to ensure a safe and secure online environment for our students. This notice is a new requirement per Ohio Senate Bill 29 (“SB29”), which was passed by the Ohio General Assembly at the end of June 2024, signed by Governor DeWine on July 24, 2024, and became effective on October 24, 2024.
Mount Vernon City School District remains committed to maintaining student privacy while providing the necessary tools for learning.
Yours in education,
Matthew J. Dill, Ed.D, MBA
Director of Technology and Gifted Education