The Time for GESS is Now: Why EdTech Cybersecurity Can No Longer Wait

The EdTech marketplace has a problem that everyone in the sector knows about, complains about, and has somehow tolerated for far too long: there is no common security bar. No shared expectations. No single target for providers to aim at. And while we have spent years discussing frameworks and requirements across jurisdictions, the breaches have kept coming — bigger, more frequent, and more damaging to the students whose data sits at the center of every incident.

Request For Proposal (RFP)

The A4L Community is seeking proposals to develop an assessment framework for third-party certification to the Global Educational Security Standard (GESS) and to conduct assessments of K–12 educational technology products.

Request For Information (RFI)

The A4L Community is seeking information from auditing/certifying firms regarding future third-party certification for its Global Educational Security Standard (GESS).

A Call To Action for Education Technology Stakeholders

The time has come for all stakeholders to unite and tackle the pressing security challenges in the Educational Technology (EdTech) sector. Data breaches are escalating in both frequency and severity, leaving student information vulnerable. A lack of coordination across the marketplace, driven by inconsistent controls and fragmented legal requirements, has only exacerbated the problem. However, there is hope. Through collaboration and a shared commitment to securing the educational ecosystem, we can create a safer environment for all EdTech products and services. Adopting and consistently adhering to standardized controls is essential. Many recent data breaches may have been avoided entirely if these measures had been in place.

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).

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.

The SDPC publish the first ever international education sector specific data security standard – the Global Education Security Standard (GESS)

During the second annual Privacy & Interoperability Symposium, the Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC) announced version 1.0 of the first ever international education sector specific data security standard. The Global Education Security Standard (GESS) reflects the combined work and outputs of a multi-national team dedicated to improving the cyber safety of the education sector. The Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC), a Special Interest Group of the non-profit Access 4 Learning (A4L) Community, has been successful in bringing the educational technology (EdTech) marketplace players and school districts/states/countries together in addressing student data privacy obligations.