FERPA & COPPA Notice
Last updated: 2026-01-01 · Version 1.0-draft
⚠ [ATTORNEY DRAFT REQUIRED] — This page contains placeholder legal text that has not been reviewed or approved by a licensed attorney. Do not rely on this content for legal compliance. Replace all placeholder sections before production launch.
What Is FERPA?
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a US federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. FERPA gives parents and eligible students rights over their education records and restricts how schools may disclose those records to third parties.
Our Role Under FERPA
[ATTORNEY DRAFT REQUIRED] — GradeWise acts as a "school official" with a "legitimate educational interest" under 34 CFR §99.31(a)(1). We are not an "authorized representative" for audit or evaluation purposes under FERPA. We do not have independent rights to student education records — we act solely on the school's instruction and under the school's direction.
What Student Data We Access
- Essay text submitted by teachers for grading
- Grades and feedback created by or confirmed by teachers
We do not receive student names, email addresses, or other identifying information unless a teacher includes them in an essay file. We recommend that teachers remove student names from essay files before uploading.
What We Do Not Do With Student Data
- We do not sell or rent student data
- We do not use student data for advertising
- We do not use student data to train AI models
- We do not share student data with third parties except service providers listed in our Privacy Policy and Data Processing Agreement
Data Processing Agreement
Schools and districts can request a signed Data Processing Agreement (DPA) for FERPA compliance. Our DPA:
- Names us as a school official acting on the school's behalf
- Defines permitted uses of student data
- Defines deletion obligations
- Defines breach notification procedures
To request a DPA, visit our Data Processing Agreement page.
COPPA
GradeWise is a teacher tool. We do not collect personal information directly from children under 13. Students do not have accounts or direct access to GradeWise. If a teacher inadvertently creates a student account, contact us immediately at [email protected] to have it removed.
State Privacy Laws
In addition to FERPA, we comply with applicable state student data privacy laws, including:
- California: SOPIPA, AB 1584
- New York: Education Law §2-d
- Other states: Reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Contact us with questions about your state's requirements.
Contact for Compliance Questions
School administrators with FERPA or privacy questions can contact us at [email protected].