School districts lag on data privacy expertise, reports shows

Most district leaders tasked with managing and implementing privacy programs do not have that task listed in their job descriptions, according to a report published Tuesday by the nonprofit Consortium for School Networking.

According to the report, of the nearly 90% of surveyed district leaders who said they oversee their district’s student data privacy program, 73% said it was not part of their job description. Seventeen percent said they had never received relevant privacy training, and one quarter of those who had been trained paid out of pocket.

CoSN’s 2025 National Student Data Privacy Report was based on a survey of more than 400 school district representatives across 39 states and the District of Columbia about student data privacy practices. The report urged district leaders to reinforce their commitment to privacy, and to provide training to strengthen their existing privacy infrastructures.

Beyond financial barriers to improving privacy programs, 60% of those surveyed said the biggest barrier to improving data privacy programs was a lack of time and manpower. Nearly half of respondents cited a lack of guidance on federal and state laws as a barrier, and 38% pointed to a lack of privacy expertise.

Respondents also noted personnel challenges to implementing privacy programs, with 89% stating that employee-related issues were extremely or very concerning. Other challenges included employee behavior, controlling the influx of free and low-cost classroom technologies, enforcing policies and mandating privacy training.

The report said that while most of the district educational technology leaders surveyed are committed to student data privacy, not all districts have developed the necessary organizational structures to implement and sustain privacy programs.

“The 2025 National Student Data Privacy Report underscores the urgent need for stronger leadership, training and resources to protect student data in an increasingly digital world,” CoSN CEO Keith Krueger said in a news release. “The report provides a roadmap for districts to build stronger, more resilient privacy programs and highlights the significant impact of CoSN’s Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) Seal in fostering leadership alignment and cross-departmental collaboration.”