AWS and CITE showcase commitment to student data privacy through the California AB 1584 Compliance Addendum

This month, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and California IT in Education (CITE, formerly CETPA) announced the new California AB 1584 Compliance Addendum, a contract addendum available to AWS customers in California that are required to affirm compliance with California Assembly Bill 1584 (AB 1584) in California Education Code Section 49073.1.

AB 1584 is a student data privacy law that applies to contracts between local educational agencies in California and third parties that provide digital or cloud-based services for the storage, management, and retrieval of student records. The California AB 1584 Compliance Addendum (“Addendum”) allows educational agencies, school districts, and EdTech customers in California to procure AWS services in compliance with AB 1584.

The Addendum addresses the requirements of AB 1584, describes AWS’s actions taken to ensure the security and confidentiality of student records, and complies with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Education customers in California can execute the Addendum and have it added to any contract or contract vehicle used for the procurement of AWS services.

Why this matters to school districts and EdTechs in California

With an increased focus on student data security, school districts and education startups are looking for trusted partners who can help them keep up with an evolving data privacy legal landscape. CITE, which provides a wide range of resources for IT professionals working in education, empowers districts and schools in California to understand and be compliant with state-wide data privacy laws. CITE’s efforts prevent schools from taking on the administrative burden of compliance, which could slow their path to innovation.

To affirm AWS and its customers’ compliance with AB 1584, CITE and AWS developed the Addendum for California school districts.

The Addendum describes how AWS handles student information in compliance with AB 1584 requirements. Since the Addendum and its terms are pre-approved by CITE, customers can quickly sign up and streamline their review of privacy terms when adopting cloud services.

Making the move to the cloud easier

School districts need to trust that their service providers are complying with applicable law. AWS is committed to helping educational institutions procure AWS services in a compliant manner. With this Addendum, schools and districts in California can more easily procure AWS services and take advantage of the savings and scalability that AWS offers, while maintaining robust security and regulatory compliance. The success of AWS’s security and compliance program is primarily measured by one thing: the success of customers— in this case, the success of students and teachers.

For more information, check out the blog post, Solving Educational Data Interoperability Challenges Using the Ed-Fi Data Standard.