Policy & Guidelines

Cohasset Public Schools is committed to providing safe, responsible, and educationally purposeful access to technology for all students and staff. The policies below outline expectations for using district technology and networks, including our Acceptable Use Policy, Student Responsible Use Agreement, and AI Guidelines, which together establish the rules, responsibilities, and best practices that guide how our community engages with technology and artificial intelligence in support of learning.

Policies & Guidelines

Acceptable Use Policy

Cohasset Public Schools' Acceptable Use Policy governs student and staff use of district technology and networks. Access is treated as a privilege for educational purposes only, granted after signing the policy (with parental consent for students). Users must follow rules against hacking, password sharing, bypassing filters, plagiarism (including AI-generated content), cyberbullying, and non-educational use of chat or social media. The district uses CIPA-compliant filtering but warns it isn't foolproof, so users browse at their own risk. All activity is subject to monitoring with no expectation of privacy, and the district disclaims liability for data loss, inaccurate information, or harm from online interactions. Violations are handled by school administrators under existing disciplinary codes and can result in loss of technology privileges.

Acceptable Use Policy

Student Responsible Use Agreement

Cohasset Public Schools' Responsible Use Agreement for Students frames technology use as a set of student responsibilities rather than district rules. Students have no expectation of privacy, and the agreement applies even off-campus when using District accounts or devices.

By signing, students commit to practicing good digital citizenship through honest, respectful, and appropriate online communication; protecting personal information for themselves and others; safeguarding their passwords and account security; treating others with respect by avoiding harassment, bullying, or misuse of AI tools like deepfakes to alter someone's likeness; accessing only appropriate, educational content; respecting network security by not bypassing filters or using unauthorized software; taking care of school equipment and reporting damage or misuse; honoring copyright and properly citing sources, including AI-generated material; and being responsible for their own personal devices while on campus.

The agreement is signed through the Student/Family Handbook signature page, and failing to meet these responsibilities can result in loss of access or disciplinary action.

Student Responsible Use Agreement

AI Guidelines

Cohasset Public Schools' AI Guidelines (Spring 2026) set expectations for how AI is used across the district, grounded in the school's "Vision of a Graduate" values of integrity and responsible innovation.

Key points: student personally identifiable information must never be entered into AI tools, and even directory information should be avoided due to aggregation risks. Any instructional AI tool must have a signed Data Privacy Agreement, with different approval requirements depending on whether it's consumer AI (staff use only), instructional platforms, curriculum tools, or student-facing tools.

For students, an "AI Use Continuum" outlines what's off-limits (completing assignments, writing submitted work, cheating) versus what's allowed with teacher guidance (brainstorming, outlining, research support) versus freely permitted (study guides, flashcards, organization tools). Core principles throughout are transparency, critical thinking, academic integrity, privacy, and environmental awareness. Questions or privacy concerns go to the building principal, Data Information Systems Manager, or Assistant Superintendent depending on the topic.

AI Guidelines

FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy)

FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) is a U.S. federal law, enacted in 1974, that protects the privacy of student education records. It applies to all schools that receive funding from the U.S. Department of Education.

Key provisions:

Parent/student rights: Parents have the right to inspect and review their child's education records. Once a student turns 18 or enters a postsecondary school, these rights transfer to the student ("eligible student").
Right to request amendment: Parents/eligible students can request corrections to records they believe are inaccurate or misleading.
Consent for disclosure: Schools generally must have written permission before releasing personally identifiable information from a student's education record, with several exceptions (e.g., school officials with legitimate educational interest, other schools a student is transferring to, specified officials for audit purposes, financial aid purposes, judicial orders, or health/safety emergencies).
Directory information: Schools may disclose certain "directory" info (like name, address, phone, dates of attendance, honors) without consent, but must notify families and allow them to opt out.
Enforcement: Complaints are handled by the Student Privacy Policy Office within the Department of Education. Schools that violate FERPA risk losing federal funding, though this is rarely enforced in practice.

This is the same law referenced in the Cohasset AI Guidelines document, which used FERPA's definitions of PII and directory information to guide rules about what student data can/can't be entered into AI tools.

FERPA (external link)

COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act)

COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) is a U.S. federal law, enacted in 1998, that regulates how websites and online services collect and handle personal information from children under 13. It's enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Key provisions:

Who it applies to: Operators of websites or online services either directed at children under 13, or that have actual knowledge they're collecting personal information from a child under 13.
Parental consent: Operators must obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from a child under 13 (with limited exceptions, like collecting an email just to get parental consent).
What counts as personal information: Name, address, email, phone number, Social Security number, photos/videos/audio with a child's image or voice, geolocation data, and persistent identifiers (like cookies) used to track a child across sites.
Notice requirements: Operators must post a clear privacy policy describing what information is collected, how it's used, and whether it's disclosed to third parties.
Parental rights: Parents can review the personal information collected about their child, request it be deleted, and refuse further collection or use.
Data minimization & security: Operators can't require a child to disclose more information than necessary to participate in an activity, and must maintain reasonable security to protect the data collected.
Enforcement: The FTC can impose civil penalties for violations, and some states also have their own enforcement authority.

This is the same law referenced in the Cohasset Acceptable Use Policy document you shared earlier — it's relevant to schools because many ed-tech tools and platforms used in classrooms are considered "operators" under COPPA if students under 13 are using them.

COPPA (external link)

Google and Third Party Apps

Cohasset Public Schools utilizes Google Apps for Education and other Google extensions, allowing staff and students to collaborate virtually on documents, presentations, and projects via the web. These tools enable direct access to instructional content, assignment and event calendars, and the ability to submit work electronically. Email accounts allow students and teachers to communicate and collaborate in a safe and structured manner while providing access to many web-based educational tools to create stories, concept maps, edit videos, and develop visual presentations. In March 2025, Google reorganized its educational platform into a Google Workspace that includes a core list of apps approved for students' use. Each school determines which apps are appropriate for the instructional levels of the students in its building. Below is a link to learn more about Google’s privacy and security information for families.

Safer digital learning with Google for Education

Frequently Asked Questions

What personal information does Google collect?

When creating a student account, CPS may provide Google with certain personal information about the student, including, for example, a name, email address, and password. Google may also collect personal information directly from students, such as telephone numbers for account recovery or a profile photo added to the Google Workspace for Education account.

When a student uses Google core services, Google also collects information based on the use of those services. This includes:

account information, which includes things like name and email address.
activity while using the core services, which includes things like viewing and interacting with content, people with whom your student communicates or shares content, and other details about their usage of the services.
settings, apps, browsers & devices. Google collects information about your student’s settings and the apps, browsers, and devices they use to access Google services. This information includes browser and device type, settings configuration, unique identifiers, operating system, mobile network information, and application version number. Google also collects information about the interaction of your student’s apps, browsers, and devices with Google services, including IP address, crash reports, system activity, and the date and time of a request.
location information. Google collects information about your student’s location as determined by various technologies such as IP address and GPS.
direct communications. Google keeps records of communications when your student provides feedback, asks questions, or seeks technical support

The Additional Services we allow students to access with their Google Workspace for Education accounts may also collect the following information, as described in the Google Privacy Policy:

activity while using additional services, which includes things like terms your student searches for, videos they watch, content and ads they view and interact with, voice and audio information when they use audio features, purchase activity, and activity on third-party sites and apps that use Google services.
apps, browsers, and devices. Google collects the information about your student’s apps, browser, and devices described above in the core services section.
location information. Google collects info about your student’s location as determined by various technologies including: GPS, IP address, sensor data from their device, and information about things near their device, such as Wi-Fi access points, cell towers, and Bluetooth-enabled devices. The types of location data we collect depend in part on your student’s device and account settings.

How does Google use this information?

In Google Workspace for Education Core Services, Google uses student personal information primarily to provide the core services that schools and students use, but it’s also used to maintain and improve the services; make recommendations to optimize the use of the services; provide and improve other services your student requests; provide support; protect Google’s users, customers, the public, and Google; and comply with legal obligations. See the Google Cloud Privacy Notice for more information.

In Google Additional Services, Google may use the information collected from all Additional Services to deliver, maintain, and improve our services; develop new services; provide personalized services; measure performance; communicate with schools or users; and protect Google, Google’s users, and the public. See the Google Privacy Policy for more details.

Does Google use student personal information for users in K-12 schools to target advertising?

No. There are no ads shown in Google Workspace for Education core services. Also, none of the personal information collected in the core services is used for advertising purposes.

[Include this section if your school provides access to Additional Services] Some additional services show ads; however, for users in primary and secondary (K12) schools, the ads will not be personalized ads, which means Google does not use information from your student’s account or past activity to target ads. However, Google may show ads based on general factors like the student’s search queries, the time of day, or the content of a page they’re reading.

Can my child share information with others using the Google Workspace for Education account?

We may allow students to access Google services such as Google Docs and Sites, which include features where users can share information with others or publicly. For example, if your student shares a photo with a friend who then makes a copy of it, or shares it again, then that photo may continue to appear in the friend’s Google Account, even if your student removes it from their Google Account. When users share information publicly, it may become accessible through search engines, including Google Search.

Will Google disclose my child’s personal information?

Google will not share personal information with companies, organizations and individuals outside of Google except in the following cases:

With our school: Our school administrator (and resellers who manage your or your organization’s Workspace account) will have access to your student’s information. For example, they may be able to:

View account information, activity and statistics;
Change your student’s account password;
Suspend or terminate your student’s account access;
Access your student’s account information in order to satisfy applicable law, regulation, legal process, or enforceable governmental request;
Restrict your student’s ability to delete or edit their information or privacy settings.

With your consent: Google will share personal information outside of Google with parental consent.

For external processing: Google will share personal information with Google’s affiliates and other trusted third party providers to process it for us as Google instructs them and in compliance with our Google Privacy Policy, the Google Cloud Privacy Notice, and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures.

For legal reasons: Google will share personal information outside of Google if they have a good-faith belief that access, use, preservation or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary for legal reasons, including complying with enforceable governmental requests and protecting you and Google.

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 Leslie Scollins at lscollins@cohassetk12.org. 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).

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In This Section

Policy & Guidelines

Policies & Guidelines

Acceptable Use Policy

Student Responsible Use Agreement

AI Guidelines

FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy)

COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act)

Google and Third Party Apps

Frequently Asked Questions

What personal information does Google collect?

How does Google use this information?

Does Google use student personal information for users in K-12 schools to target advertising?

Can my child share information with others using the Google Workspace for Education account?

Will Google disclose my child’s personal information?

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

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