As AI becomes more common in schools, protecting student and teacher data is at the forefront of everyone’s minds. While the specifics of privacy are unique to each AI-powered tool, Brisk Teaching proudly leads the way in safeguarding student and teacher data! Continue reading for answers to common concerns about student and teacher privacy with AI and how Brisk is different from other AI tools used in schools.
What is Brisk Teaching?
Brisk is an AI platform that brings AI into the tools teachers already use, helping them build lessons, personalize learning for every student, and determine what to teach next. Brisk works with Google Docs, Google Slides, Microsoft Word Docs, Microsoft Powerpoint, articles, YouTube videos, PDFs, and more.
- Brisk Extension: The Brisk browser extension lives where teachers already work — in their Chrome or Edge browser, on the sites they’re already using — and offers time-saving, in-the-moment support when they need it.
- Brisk Next: The extension handles in-the-moment work. Brisk Next (app.briskteaching.com) is where teachers plan, review, and build at scale — based on real data from their students.
- Brisk Boost: Brisk Boost is a safe student-facing AI workspace where teachers stay in control. Teachers can take any resource on the web and personalize learning for each student — while getting real-time insights into student engagement and understanding.
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Understanding Data Privacy
To fully appreciate Brisk’s approach to student and teacher privacy with AI, you first need to understand what student and teacher data are:
What is Student Data with AI?
Student data is any personal information about students that is given to an AI-powered tool by a school or collected by the AI tool when in use.
This information might include things like:
- Names and contact information
- Grades and test scores
- Attendance records
- Behavioral reports
- Special education plans
- Health information
- Family details
*More information about what is considered “student data” can be found in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, California’s Student Online Personal Information Protection Act, and information protected by similar student data privacy laws.
What is Teacher Data?
Much like that student data, teacher data is personal information given to or retrieved by an AI tool. It can include:
- Names and contact information
- School name and district
- Information about courses you teach
- Specially created resources or classroom materials
In many situations, teacher data is profitable for companies. This profitability isn’t always in the best interest of teachers though. Teacher data can be used to measure professional performance, impact state and national policies about education, and make critical employment decisions like tenure and terminations.
When student or teacher data is in the hands of an AI tool without many protections, it can have long-term negative consequences.
Brisk's Approach to Student and Teacher Data
Brisk believes student and teacher privacy is of utmost importance and takes our part in it seriously. Neither student nor teacher data is ever sold.
Student Privacy with Brisk
Student data is never used for targeted advertising! Brisk believes:
- Student data belongs to schools
- Protecting student information is essential
- Adhering to privacy laws is crucial
With Brisk, student data is only used to provide service to schools. Brisk seeks to access the least amount of student information needed to provide the highest quality impact.
For students under the age of 13, Brisk only collects and processes personal data at the direction of and under the control of the school.
As found in Brisk’s Privacy Notice, student data used with Brisk is still owned by the students’ schools. Brisk acts more like a caretaker of the data— not the owner. Schools can request to access or delete student data at any time by contacting privacy@briskteaching.com.
Brisk also follows important privacy laws like FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) in the USA and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in Europe.
Teacher Privacy with Brisk
Brisk uses as little personal data as possible to manage its organization and run its daily operations. Teacher data is used to:
- provide Brisk’s services
- understand how teachers are using Brisk to improve Brisk’s services
- conduct research for Brisk, if a teacher opts in, and, where a school has purchased AI Governance and turned it on, provide that school with aggregated insights into AI use across its classrooms
- send communications like emails and newsletters
- let other teachers know about Brisk’s services
- provide top-notch customer service
*More information about personal data can be found in Brisk’s Privacy Notice.
Common Concerns about Student and Teacher Privacy with AI
There are many concerns about student and teacher privacy with AI, but Brisk addresses them all proactively and thoroughly.
Data Usage and Sharing
Concern: Will student data be used for ads or sold to other companies?
Brisk's Response: Student data is never used for ads.
For example, if a student struggles with fractions, Brisk won't use this information to show the student ads for math tutoring services. Student data is never sold.
Profile Building
Concern: Will AI tools create personal profiles of students for non-school purposes?
Brisk's Response: No personal profiles of students are made except for school-approved reasons.
For example, Brisk might create a profile of a student's reading level to recommend appropriate books. This information would not be used to predict the student's future career choices or other personal decisions.
Data Security
Concern: How is sensitive student information protected from being stolen or hacked?
Brisk's Response: Brisk has a strong security program designed to protect student data. This includes:
- Encrypting data both when it's stored and when it's being sent
- Restricted access for personal data
- Use of firewalls
- Disciplinary process for privacy violations
- Student Data Breach Response Protocol available to schools
Transparency
Concern: Will schools and parents know about how data is used?
Brisk's Response: With student and teacher privacy at its forefront, Brisk’s data policies were crafted using easy-to-understand verbiage to ensure total transparency for everyone.
Schools and individual Brisk users will also be notified about any big changes to their privacy rules, like if they plan to collect a new type of data or use existing data in a new way.
How Brisk Stands Out
In a time when maintaining privacy is very important, Brisk is exceptional! Our standards include:
- Strict data usage policies
- Enhanced control for schools
- Compliance with education privacy laws
- Using de-identified data
We have earned the Data Privacy Certification and TrustEd Apps Seal from 1EdTech, are SOC 2 Type II compliant, and comply with the GDPR and all student data privacy laws, including FERPA, COPPA, and Canadian provincial and territorial privacy legislation. We're also proud to have earned a 95% Privacy Rating from Common Sense Education, reflecting our strong commitment to protecting student data.
We have signed the National Data Privacy Agreement with Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Next Steps
Book a demo to learn more about using Brisk with your school and district. Our School & District plans include the most advanced features of Brisk, priority support, professional development opportunities, and detailed data analytics.
As Brisk continues to create new tools, we stay committed to these high standards in student and teacher privacy with AI and lead the way in responsibly using it in education.
