FERPA & Privacy for Districts
For school administrators, IT departments, and district legal reviewing IEP Goal Writer for institutional use.
How the Tool Is Designed for FERPA
IEP Goal Writer is architected around a core principle: student PII never enters the system. The tool works by asking educators to describe student needs in clinical/functional terms — disability category, grade level, assessment scores, behavioral patterns — without any identifying information.
This means:
- What you type stays in your browser until you press Generate. At that point, the de-identified description is sent to our AI service and immediately discarded after the response is returned.
- Your generation history (goals, PLAAFPs, notes) is stored only in your browser's localStorage. It does not leave your device unless you explicitly export it.
- No accounts are required to use the tool, so there is no user database linking educators to student data.
AI Processing — What Leaves Your Device
When you generate content, the text you enter in the form is transmitted to a third-party AI API for processing. This API processes the request and returns the generated content. The data is not retained by the AI provider beyond the immediate request.
Establish a school or district policy that all staff use the tool with de-identified descriptions only. The tool enforces this through UI reminders, but policy documentation strengthens your FERPA posture. We can provide a sample policy statement on request.
If your district requires data residency (data processed only within the US), please contact us at support@iepgoalwriter.pro before deployment. We can advise on AI provider options that meet that requirement.
Business Associate Agreement & DPA
We recognize that some districts require a signed agreement before approving any external tool that may touch education-related content.
To request a BAA or DPA, email support@iepgoalwriter.pro with your district name and the number of intended users. We will respond within 2 business days.
Data Retention & Deletion
- AI input/output: Not retained on our servers. Discarded after each response.
- Browser data (profiles, history): Remains on the educator's device. Cleared by clearing browser data. We have no access to it.
- License keys: Retained until the license expires or the user requests deletion. Contains no PII — just the key and a usage counter.
- Server logs: Standard web server access logs (IP address, timestamp, request path) retained for up to 30 days for security monitoring.
Subprocessors
We use the following subprocessors in delivering the service:
District Purchasing
We offer school and district-wide licenses. District licenses include:
- Single invoice for IT procurement
- BAA and DPA on request (no extra charge)
- Onboarding guide for staff
- Priority email support
Contact support@iepgoalwriter.pro with your district name, estimated number of special education staff, and any compliance documentation required. We'll put together a quote within 48 hours.