Arkansas Student Data Privacy and Vendor Contract Guide

Primary Laws
Student Online Personal Information Privacy Act (SOPIPA) and Student Data Vendor Security Act

Citation
Arkansas Act 1196 of 2015; Arkansas Act 754 of 2023 (effective June 1, 2024)

Official Text
https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?type=pdf&ddBienniumSession=2015%2F2015R&file=Act1196.pdf
https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2023R%2FPublic%2FACT754.pdf

Overview

Arkansas addresses student data privacy through a combination of operator-focused restrictions and contract-focused requirements. Arkansas SOPIPA sets limits on how online services used for school purposes may collect and use student information, while the Student Data Vendor Security Act strengthens expectations for district contracts that make student personally identifiable information available to providers.

In practice, Arkansas districts benefit most from treating privacy compliance as both a vendor behavior issue and a procurement discipline: confirm the operator limitations, then ensure contracts and ongoing oversight match the way tools are actually deployed across classrooms and district systems.

Applicability and Scope

Arkansas student data privacy requirements are most relevant when:

• Students or staff use online services, websites, or applications for K-12 school purposes
• A provider collects, receives, stores, or processes student personally identifiable information (PII)
• A district signs contracts that disclose or make student PII available to a vendor or subcontractor

District teams should treat these laws as in-scope for classroom tools, identity and access services, learning platforms, assessment tools, and any vendor that connects to district systems or stores student records.

Operator Restrictions and Prohibited Uses

Arkansas SOPIPA is designed to prevent commercial or secondary use of student data while still allowing educational functionality. Districts should confirm that vendors do not use student data for purposes outside the school-authorized educational context, such as targeted advertising, selling data, or building non-educational student profiles.

District reviews commonly document:

• Whether the vendor prohibits targeted advertising based on student information
• Whether the vendor prohibits selling or renting student information
• Whether student profiling is limited to K-12 school purposes
• Whether disclosures are limited to what is necessary to provide the service

Vendor Governance and Transparency Expectations

Arkansas places a strong emphasis on clarity, transparency, and accountability when vendors receive or handle student personally identifiable information. Districts may operationalize these expectations through written agreements, structured vendor vetting, or a combination of both, ensuring that privacy and security controls are clearly understood and enforceable.

District implementation commonly focuses on:

• Confirming that data use is purpose-bound, limited to school-authorized educational functions
• Requiring transparency from vendors about what student data is collected, the reasons for collection, and how the data is used
• Expecting prompt vendor notification if student PII is misused or accessed in an unauthorized manner
• Establishing clear retention and destruction practices, including deletion upon district request when continued retention is not authorized by parent consent

This approach allows Arkansas districts to apply disciplined, risk-aware governance across vendor relationships while maintaining flexibility in how controls are documented and enforced.

Safeguarding and Security Practices

Arkansas requires vendors that handle student PII to protect it with safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. Districts should confirm vendors have security practices that match the role of the tool and the scope of student data involved.

District review commonly considers:

• Access controls and account management practices
• Secure storage and transmission expectations
• Incident response and breach reporting workflows
• How subcontractors are controlled and monitored

How Arkansas Districts Commonly Implement Compliance

Arkansas districts typically operationalize compliance through repeatable procurement and review workflows, including:

• Maintaining an inventory of tools and services that collect or access student PII
• Standardizing privacy review questions for operator restrictions, disclosures, and security
• Ensuring contract language matches actual data flows and integrations
• Revisiting approvals when vendor policies, subprocessors, or product features change

How EdPrivacy Supports Arkansas Schools

Arkansas districts benefit from having a single, reliable way to manage vendor oversight, especially as tools, features, and privacy practices evolve. EdPrivacy helps schools bring together vendor reviews, governance decisions, and supporting documentation so approvals remain current and defensible over time.

With EdPrivacy, districts can:

• Inventory applications and vendors in use and identify which tools interact with student PII
• Centralize vendor privacy notices, security materials, and contract-related artifacts for easy reference
• Record district approval criteria aligned to Arkansas expectations, including purpose limitations, disclosure controls, and retention or deletion requirements
• Track changes to vendor terms or privacy statements and refresh reviews on a defined schedule

This centralized model helps districts apply consistent standards without relying on ad hoc processes.

Summary

Arkansas districts should be prepared to:

• Ensure edtech providers do not sell, advertise with, or improperly profile students using school-collected data
• Apply clear privacy and security safeguards through written agreements, structured vetting, or a combination of both
• Evaluate security practices and data lifecycle controls, including retention limits and deletion expectations
• Maintain a scalable, repeatable review and monitoring process across the district’s edtech ecosystem

Arkansas’s approach combines operator restrictions with governance controls, making consistent documentation and ongoing oversight essential for sustainable student data privacy compliance.