A4L Community Newsletter, December 2024

The school year is in full swing, and as we approach the holidays one thing we can all be thankful for is the vibrant community that we’re part of. True grassroots community initiatives are strong, long-lasting, and directly connect to the needs of their members. A4L exemplifies that approach. As the ball drops and we turn the calendar to 2025, there is so much to look forward to. A4L continues to strengthen its ability to meet members’ needs around both interoperability and privacy.

A4L appoint Director of Data Privacy

Washington, DC, 2 December 2024—The Access 4 Learning (A4L) Community is thrilled to have David Sallay joining our team as our Director of Data Privacy. In this new role David will be overseeing all data privacy related initiatives including the Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC).

WEBINAR: Data Minimization

Data minimization is a privacy principle that states that organizations should only collect and store personal data necessary to accomplish a specific purpose, and only for as long as needed. It’s a key principle for reducing the risk of data breaches and respecting individual privacy.

Join us on December 2 at 2pm ET as we dive deep into operational best practices for data collection, sharing and retention, with a particular focus on how to manage data effectively when working with EdTech Vendors and researchers.

COMMUNITY REVIEW: SIF Infrastructure Specification 3.7 (global)

On November 13, 2024, the Association Board of Directors approved the SIF Infrastructure Specification (global) 3.7 for A4L Community Review.

Community Review period will be open from Tuesday, November 19 until COB ET on Monday, December 9, 2024 (inclusive).

A4L Community and PESC announce Joint Venture Agreement

Washington, DC, 16 October 2024—Today, at the PESC October DSU-focused summit, the Access 4 Learning (A4L) Community and the Postsecondary Education Standards Council (PESC) announced the creation of a joint venture to facilitate their work together. This is a major step forward for the education standards communities, with two standards bodies taking the first step towards formalizing their collaboration through the creation of an agreement in the form of a joint venture.

A4L Community Newsletter, September 2024

It’s that time of year again; students, educators, administrators and staff all returning to school, along with caregivers all excited with anticipation about the new school year. For some they will experience new teachers, a new classroom, a new school building, and some will be returning to the same environment, but for all the excitement and anticipation for what lies ahead is palatable.

Global Education Security Standard (GESS) and Self-Assessment released

The A4L Community, through its Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC) has released a FREE self-assessment for marketplace providers as well as Version 2 of GESS. This tool will allow EdTech vendors to begin aligning to the Global Education Security Standard (GESS).

WEBINAR: AI’s impact on Privacy and Interoperability

Join us for a lively webinar where we will dive down quickly into exactly what this means for the Education Marketplace and ecosystem. Join experts from data interoperability, privacy think tanks and K12 legal counsel as we engage in a moderated discussion about the intersection of AI, Interoperability & Privacy in K12.

A4L Community Newsletter, June 2024

Although the A4L Community has gone through a lot of changes over the last year, there is a great deal of positive momentum. We have many new members stepping up to leadership positions, our overall membership continues to grow and the Association Board has adopted new strategic goals, actions and targets that will drive our work for the year to come.

A4L Community Announces Major Milestones

Last week the Access 4 Learning (A4L) Community held its Annual Summit in Arlington VA, in collaboration with the Postsecondary Electronic Standards Council (PESC) and HR Open Standards Consortium. The joint Summit demonstrated the standards body’s vision to collaborate and work together with other standards groups, towards the ultimate goal of improving interoperability, privacy and security for lifelong learning.