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Working with schools to safeguard data privacy

A clear commitment to data privacy

We take our role as stewards of Student Data very seriously. Clever collects and uses Student Data only as necessary to provide our services to our districts at the direction and under the control of educators.

We work with organizations who are dedicated to protecting data privacy

We are a proud signatory of the Student Data Privacy Pledge, a member of the Student Data Privacy Consortium, the first recipient of the 1EdTech TrustEd Apps Seal, and have received CommonSense Privacy Program’s highest possible rating, “Use Responsibly,” based on a full privacy evaluation.

We are transparent in our data collection and use practices

Our Privacy Policy clearly explains how we collect, use, and share information. We do not use Student Data for any purpose other than to provide the services on behalf of the schools that use Clever. Our collection, use, and disclosure of Student Data is governed by our Terms of Use, by the provision of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and applicable state laws that relate to the collection of Student Data.

We do not rent or sell data or permit advertising

We do not sell or monetize Student Data. We do not display advertising to students on Clever. We do not allow behavioral tracking by any third parties on Clever for the purpose of targeted advertising or to show ads on Clever. Instead, we are able to provide the Clever Portal to school districts at no charge because our application partners pay Clever for our implementation service according to a low, transparent per-school pricing model posted on clever.com.

How we work with you to safeguard data privacy

Clever is designed to help districts protect the privacy and integrity of their student information.

On our platform, educators share sensitive information only with authorized parties, and districts have fine-grained controls to share only the specific information they wish to share. Clever supports district data privacy efforts by minimizing shared data and providing visibility and control over software adoption.

Schools control Student Data

With Clever, districts can see and control all data shared with their authorized partners in one Clever dashboard rather than having to access multiple systems. When a district uses Clever, it maintains complete control over what data to share and in what circumstances. Clever will always delete district data from our systems upon request.

For district applications, the district authorizes all data transfers, specifying which students need access and the specific data to be exchanged with each application. For Clever Library applications that teachers may access and use in accordance with their district policies, districts may control or turn off the minimal data sharing (first name, last initial, class) required to set up student accounts. Alternately, districts may choose to turn off access to the Clever Library for their district teachers all together.

We limit data sharing by schools

On Clever, districts are able to minimize the amount of student information shared with third party applications. For example, applications in Clever Library require only first name, last initial, and grade level for creating student accounts. Role-based access allows authorized district users to access only the features they need, without being able to modify important settings. And we proactively prevent end-user mistakes from leaking unauthorized data by placing automatic security holds on unusual data transfers.

You can learn more in Clever’s Privacy Policy and Additional Terms of Use for Schools.

Clever partners and data privacy

District applications

Clever only shares data with applications that have been explicitly authorized by the district. Clever expects high standards of excellence from any application it works with. To become a Clever Certified Partner, applications are contractually required to store, transmit, and display Student Data in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations, including FERPA, PPRA, and COPPA.

In addition, our Additional Terms of Use for District Applications require an effective information security program, including the use of transport encryption. While each district takes responsibility to conduct its own due diligence in selecting education software, Clever works to be thought partners in helping our district and application partners be great at protecting Student Data.

Clever Library applications

Clever Library is a catalog of high-quality educational software for teachers to use in their classrooms. Many of the Library applications offer one-click rostering and single-sign on (SSO). Clever Library supports district privacy compliance by minimizing shared data and offering tools for visibility and control over software adoption.

Only teachers in school districts that have adopted and implemented Clever have access to Clever Library. District administrators can recommend or block specific Library applications or turn off all data sharing via the Library.

All Clever Library applications have signed the Clever Universal Data Sharing Agreement to demonstrate their willingness to meet a robust baseline of contractual protections and compliance standards. This agreement is designed to reflect compliance obligations under SOPIPA and AB1584, as well as FERPA and COPPA, and governs the Library application’s access to district data through Clever, in addition to the application’s own terms of service and other agreements.

Read our full Privacy Policy.