An integrated LMS system requires coordination of efforts between teachers, students, and parents. A grades and student records system is one of the primary instruments of managing and processing everyday school data (Frazier & Hearrington, 2017). This system usually contains data protected by the Family Education and Privacy Act (FERPA), which includes the following (Parks, 2017):
- Date and place of birth of the student, parental or guardian contacts, and emergency numbers;
- Academic information including grades;
- Specialized education and disciplinary records;
- School medical health records;
- Attendance, awards, and academic activity records;
- Personal information (ID, social security number, picture, and other information that could be used to identify and locate a person).
As it is possible to see, the information presented is extremely valuable and vulnerable, meaning that school records require the necessary protection technology could allow. At the same time, the system should enable providing all interested parties with access to the information. In addition, the system is expected to be able to display files in various formats, including pictures, documents, and tables (Frazier & Hearrington, 2017). In order to ensure the security of these records, the system is proposed to have a two-step identification process. The first step would require inputting a password, while the second step would require the user to send a short code received either through an affiliated smartphone or an email. The system itself would have to be centralized, in order to ensure access to the database from all buildings inside of the school as well as through the Internet (Frazier & Hearrington, 2017). Each group of users would have to have a limited level of access, as per FERPA policy, with school staff having the highest level of security clearance (Parks, 2017).
References
Frazier, M., & Hearrington, D. (2017). The technology coordinator’s handbook (3rd ed.). Portland, OR: The International Society for Technology in Education.
Parks, C. (2017). Beyond compliance: Students and FERPA in the age of big data. Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy, 2(2), 23.