Effective from September 1, 2024, Texas House Bill 18 – better known as the SCOPE Act – will come into effect for school districts all across Texas. And while that may give school leaders time to plan and prepare, Article III of the SCOPE Act is already a mandatory piece of legislation for Texas-based schools.
To ensure full compliance with the SCOPE Act in the 2024-25 school year, we’ve compiled everything you need to know and cover. Read on to learn:
- The purpose of the SCOPE Act, and what this means for Texas-based school districts
- The requirements for Texas school districts moving forward
- How Securly can support your school to become compliant
What is the SCOPE Act / Texas House Bill 18?
On June 13, 2023, the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act – commonly referred to as the SCOPE Act – was signed, specifically dealing with ‘the protection of minors from harmful, deceptive, or unfair trade practices in connection with the use of certain digital services and electronic devices, including the use and transfer of electronic devices to students by a public school.’
In short, this state-wide legislation requires that Texas-based school districts protect children from harmful, deceptive, or unfair trade practices in connection with the use of certain digital services, as well as provide enhanced data privacy protections. It also places a responsibility on those same service providers to limit access to harmful or dangerous content online. Lastly, the SCOPE Act requires that parents provide consent for the use of such software and are kept better informed of the potential risks.
What are the Requirements of the SCOPE Act?
The ultimate goal of the SCOPE Act is to keep children safe online and empower parents to have more visibility and understanding of their online activities and the associated threats.
Protection from Harmful or Dangerous Content Online
Digital service providers are required to exercise “reasonable care” to prevent harm to students online, which includes physical, emotional, and developmental harm. This covers content that may encourage or lead to self-harm (including eating disorders or suicide) violence and bullying, or sexual exploitation (including trafficking or child pornography).
The bill specifies that the provision of a web filter and other cybersecurity resources is a must, as well as the implementation of appropriate social media restrictions on electronic devices within schools.
Transparency and Maintenance of Student Data Privacy
Digital service providers must now provide accessible, transparent disclosures on their student data collection, including clear oversight into how they might target students with marketing or advertising material. This legislation looks to prohibit the sharing of student data and personally identifiable information (PII), as well as protect minors from engaging with targeted ads or associated financial transactions.
It will also be required that the provider allow access to information including how long their data will be held, as well as provide the rights to dispute, correct, and delete that data.
Parental Consent, Access, and Resources
An integral part of the SCOPE Act relates to parents and providing them with far greater access and understanding of the school-implemented software. First and foremost, it requires that digital service providers attain parental consent before they can enter into any agreements with a student user. This aligns more closely with the already well-recognized COPPA legislation.
However, consent alone is no longer enough. Now, parents will also need to be provided with the tools and resources necessary to better understand how the software and its included algorithms work. This provision should also give parents access to tools that enable them to implement the strongest level of privacy settings, limit data collection, and restrict their child’s ability and access.
Involving and better informing parents will ensure that student safety and wellness support is more consistent between their time at school and home.
How can Securly Support your District to be SCOPE Act Compliant?
With so much private and sensitive student information being collected and stored by digital service providers, the implementation of the SCOPE Act is an understandable step in supporting overall improvements in student safety and wellness.
Securly is the only K-12 student safety and wellness technology provider to attain SOC 2 Type 2 Certification for its suite of solutions. Not only that, but the data centers used by Securly for limited retention of data are also SOC 2 Type 2 compliant. Attained through a rigorous third-party audit by a leading national accounting and advisory firm, SOC 2 Type 2 certification affirms that Securly’s information security practices, policies, procedures, and operations meet the SOC 2 standards for security.
On top of that, we encrypt all analyzed student data and meet or exceed the highest standards for student data privacy, including certifications through iKeepSafe, which demonstrates compliance with:
- Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA),
- The Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Rule (COPPA)
- All other applicable state-level data privacy laws – including the SCOPE Act
You can read all of Securly’s privacy and data documentation here.
Achieve SCOPE Compliance with Securly Filter, Securly Reveal, and Securly Home for Parents
Use Securly Filter to Protect Students from Harmful or Dangerous Content Online
Securly Filter is a cloud-based web filter designed specifically for K-12 schools. Filter helps schools keep students safe while providing transparency and visibility into students’ online activities to meet SCOPE regulations. Together with Securly Aware, you’ll also receive real-time notifications relating to at-risk student behaviors and activities online, allowing greater awareness of threats to student wellness.
Securly Filter is now also coupled with Securly AI Chat, giving K-12 schools unprecedented oversight and control over how students are using AI online. You can learn more in our AI Chat blog.
Let Securly Reveal Help You Protect Your Students’ Data Privacy
Securly Reveal takes the mystery out of measuring and monitoring student app and website usage, as well as helping to ensure your students’ data stays private. Your decisions are only as good as the information you have to support them, and with Securly Reveal, you’ll know exactly how edtech tools are being used so you can make smart, data-driven decisions.
With its ‘always-on’ analysis and single dashboard, interpreting and managing your data has never been simpler.
Provide Parents with Digital Access and Resources with Securly Home
Securly Home for Parents is an easy-to-use app designed specifically to empower parents with insights and overviews into their child’s online activities. With just a tap, parents can view their child’s recent searches, visited sites, and see the videos they’ve watched on their school-owned device. On top of that, they can set offline schedules and receive alerts – all in the same place.
“The Securly Home app makes accessing reports and controls very easy and fast, and it’s very convenient to have that ability on my phone so I don’t need to get to a computer to take care of something. I can quickly see activity reports from both school and home devices.”
Lany, a Securly School Mom
Further SCOPE Act Resources
To further discuss the SCOPE Act and how you can ensure your school is compliant, you can reach out to one of our experts anytime. You can also download our free SCOPE compliance guide here to be sure you’re ready come September 1.
For additional information, here are some resources that may be of use:
