Florida Student Data Privacy Guide

Primary Law: Student Online Personal Information Protection Act
Citation: Florida Statutes § 1002.22
Official Text: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=1000-1099/1002/Sections/1002.22.html

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Florida’s Student Online Personal Information Protection Act establishes rules governing how student information may be collected, used, and shared by online services and applications used for K to 12 educational purposes. The law is designed to protect student privacy by restricting commercial use of student data while preserving district flexibility in how digital tools are approved and managed.

Florida’s framework combines direct statutory limits on vendor behavior with district level responsibility for approving and overseeing tools used with students.

Scope and applicability

Under Florida law, student information generally includes data that is:

• Personally identifiable and linked to a specific student.
• Collected, created, or maintained through the use of an online educational service.
• Provided by a student, parent, teacher, or school for school related purposes.

The statute applies to:

• Florida public school districts and charter schools.
• Operators of websites, online services, or applications designed and marketed for K to 12 school use.

If a digital service is intended for classroom use and receives student information from a Florida school, it is subject to the statute’s requirements.

Vendor obligations under Florida SOPIPA

Florida law places direct restrictions on how covered operators may handle student information.

An operator may not:

• Use student information for targeted advertising.
• Sell student information or use it for commercial purposes unrelated to education.
• Create student profiles for purposes outside the educational context.
• Disclose student information except where permitted by law or necessary to support the educational service.

These limitations apply as a matter of statute and do not depend on whether a district has executed a separate agreement.

Safeguards and data handling expectations

Florida SOPIPA requires operators to use reasonable methods to protect student information.

Expected practices include:

• Maintaining administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the data.
• Restricting access to student information to individuals with a legitimate educational purpose.
• Protecting student information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure.

Districts are expected to consider these safeguards when evaluating tools for classroom use.

Permitted uses of student information

The law allows operators to use student information when the use is directly connected to educational delivery, including:

• Providing, maintaining, and improving the educational service.
• Supporting instructional, assessment, or operational functions.
• Complying with state or federal legal requirements.
• Conducting internal analysis to improve service performance.

Any permitted use must remain within the educational purpose for which the data was provided.

District oversight in Florida

While Florida SOPIPA regulates operator conduct, districts retain responsibility for approving tools used with students.

In practice, Florida districts often:

• Review vendor privacy policies and data use disclosures prior to approval.
• Confirm that vendor practices align with statutory limits on advertising and resale.
• Maintain awareness of which tools are in use across schools.
• Reevaluate approvals if vendor practices or policies change.

The statute does not prescribe a single approval workflow or documentation model.

Are signed district vendor contracts required under Florida law

Not as a general rule.

• Florida SOPIPA does not require districts to execute written data privacy agreements with every vendor.
• Vendor obligations apply directly under statute.
• Districts may choose to use written agreements in certain circumstances, such as for core instructional platforms or services handling broader categories of student information.

The law focuses on protecting student data through defined vendor limitations, rather than mandating a specific contract structure.

Practical considerations for Florida districts

To operate effectively under Florida SOPIPA, districts often prioritize:

• Identifying which online services collect or access student information.
• Applying consistent review criteria during tool approval.
• Retaining records that support approval decisions.
• Monitoring vendor disclosures for changes that could introduce new risk.
• Coordinating privacy review across instructional, technology, and administrative teams.

How edprivacy supports Florida schools

Florida districts must ensure that approved digital tools operate within the boundaries set by state law while supporting classroom needs.

edprivacy supports Florida schools by enabling districts to:

• Centralize vendor reviews using publicly available privacy and security documentation.
• Capture approval decisions and supporting evidence in one place.
• Track which tools are approved and under what conditions.
• Manage contracts where districts determine they are appropriate.
• Monitor vendor policy updates that may require reassessment.

Edprivacy provides Florida administrators with a practical system for managing student data privacy obligations while maintaining flexibility in local decision-making.

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