Google Workspace FAQ's

Who utilizes a Google Workspace account?

• All Staff Members and Students
• Before any anyone is given access a Google Workspace account, the Technology Acceptable Use Policy for Staff and Students must be understood (Board Policy 815).
   

Does LASD's Google Workspace program comply with Google's stated age restrictions?

Students under age 13 ordinarily need parent permission to have email accounts, as stated in Google's privacy policy. However since the Google Workspace tools that we are using are a secure environment monitored and controlled by the District, COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) allows the School District to act as the parents'/guardians' agent and approve the accounts on their behalf. To be COPPA compliant, we must provide an opt-out process and have done that with the Google Workspace for Education Notice to Parents and Guardians. Click here for LASD Technology Privacy Policies and COPPA page.
 

Will I have access to my student's Google account?

Parents/guardians are encouraged to communicate directly with their student(s) to acquire Google Workspace account login information. Each student has the ability to manage his/her Google Workspace account password.

If a student is unable or unwilling to provide a password to parents/guardians, parents are encouraged to contact the District to have the password reassigned to allow the parent/guardian full access to the account.

The Google Workspace accounts are property of the Lehighton Area School District. This means that content in these accounts may be accessed or searched by designated LASD employees (Network Analysts, Teachers, Administrators, School Police, etc.) in accordance with Board Policy 815 and 815.1. 

As the provider of these services, the Lehighton Area School District has included several safety and educational features in Google Workspace:

• Parents, guardians, and administrators may request access to student's Google Workspace account from the District.
• Filters to block SPAM, viruses and inappropriate content while surfing and monitoring of content with a service from Net-Ref.
• District server protections for all student email accounts. 
   

What types of safety and security measures are in place for Google Workspace?

LASD Google Workspace complies with legal requirements for safety and security such as the Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA), Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Each student is introduced to acceptable use and online safety every year in the District.

In addition, the Lehighton Area School District commits to the following regarding student privacy:

• Not to publish confidential education records (grades, student ID numbers, etc.) for public viewing on the Internet.
• To appropriately limit public access to student work and/or photographs.
• To provide LASD parents or legal guardians with the right and a method to investigate the contents of their students' G Suite account.
   

What happens if a student misuses their Google account?

The same expectations for acceptable use of technology (Board Policy 815 and 815.1) apply to Google Workspace accounts. Students who misuse their accounts will be referred to their school's administrator who will deal with any infraction on a case-by-case basis. Administrators may choose to suspend student access to GMail (preserving access to Docs and Sites for classroom use) or may choose to suspend a student's account privileges entirely for a length of time appropriate to the offense. Parents will be notified should their student's account access be altered or suspended, as they would any time a building administrator makes a decision to withdraw privileges or enforce a consequence for inappropriate actions.

To report misuse or suspected misuse of a Lehighton Area School District Google Workspace account, it is appropriate to first contact your child's principal.
 

What if I have more questions or would like to read further?

If you have questions about our use of Google’s Google Workspace for Education accounts or the choices available to you, please contact Gretchen Laviolette, Director of Instructional Technology and Curriculum Development, If you want to learn more about how Google collects, uses, and discloses personal information to provide services to us, please review the Google Workspace for Education Privacy Center (at https://www.google.com/edu/trust/), the Google Workspace for Education Privacy Notice(at https://workspace.google.com/terms/education_privacy.html), and the Google Privacy Policy at https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/), and the Google Cloud Privacy Notice at (https://cloud.google.com/terms/cloud-privacy-notice).

The Core Google Workspace for Education services are provided to us under Google Workspace for Education Agreement (at https://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/terms/education_terms.html) and the Cloud Data Processing Addendum (as https://cloud.google.com/terms/data-processing-addendum).
 

Am I able to opt my student out of the Google Workspace program?

A student can be opted out of participating in the Google Workspace program at any time.  A parent can opt their student out of the program by submitting a completed Google Workspace Apps Opt-Out Form to Gretchen Laviolette, Director of Instructional Technology and Curriculum Development at glaviolette@lehighton.org.

The decision to opt a student out of the G Suite program may have drastic academic implications as these systems are utilized in daily instruction by staff and students for learning. Parents/guardians are encouraged to consult the student's principal to discuss the implications of this decision and to discuss appropriate alternatives.