Key Takeaways for EdTech Leaders
This session featured detailed presentations from Prosper Independent School District (ISD) in North Texas and Jefferson County School District (JCPS) in Kentucky, highlighting common challenges and innovative solutions regardless of district size.
1. Centralizing Workflows for Sustainability and Compliance
Both districts shared a common "why" for moving to LearnPlatform: the unsustainability of managing EdTech review with disparate tools like Google Forms and external sites.
- Prosper ISD adopted LearnPlatform due to rapid growth. With new campuses opening every year, they needed a way to streamline systems and centralize data. Compliance was also a key driver. Texas House Bill 18 allows parents to opt their child out of using specific digital tools, necessitating a transparent, public-facing platform for managing approvals.
- Jefferson County focused on addressing heightened cybersecurity risk associated with third-party vendors. Their challenge quickly expanded from software approval to a broader "digital resource review" (DRR) encompassing websites and browser extensions.
2. Product Vetting Workflow Examples
A shared strategy between both districts? Classifying incoming EdTech requests up front, so each one follows the right review path.
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District
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Core Classification
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Instructional & Edtech tools only Path Reviewers*
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Non-Instructional Path Reviewers**
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Prosper ISD
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Instructional vs. Non-Instructional
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Program/Curriculum Coordinators, Directors
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Terms/Privacy, Data Privacy, Network Services, Cybersecurity
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Jefferson County
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EdTech vs. Business Tool
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Content Reviewers (various departments)
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IT teams (Platform/Systems, Network/Infrastructure), Data Governance, Cybersecurity Operations Center (CSOC), Internal Review Board (IRB), Active Management (VR, Apple, Hotspots), System Development
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*Conditional based on subject/grade level/department
** Instructional & Edtech tools also complete these review steps
JCPS shared several process features for their digital resource review (DRR):
- Initial Triage: If a product is only used by central office staff, it's classified as a business tool and skips the content review phase, saving time and resources.
- Risk Transfer: For specific titles, such as those related to CTE certification pathways or dual credit courses, the district transfers the data risk back to the parent or student (if over 18).
- Diligence Review: Medium or high-risk titles require a vendor application, signed DPA, and a thorough review by multiple IT teams, including a submission of a Data Risk Evaluation (DRE) questionnaire based on NIST, SOC 2, and ISO 27001 standards.
- Rebuttals: Denied products are eligible for a rebuttal process. The requester meets with the denying reviewer and submits a formal application for a follow-up vote.
Prosper ISD detailed how they utilize new features for automation and efficiency. As they continue to grow, implementing more automation will ensure the sustainability of their processes, especially with their rapid growth.
- Eliminating Manual Tagging: They now use Tag Checklist questions in the initial requester form to automatically apply tags (e.g., subject, grade band, instructional/non-instructional). This entirely removes the original manual step where the Edtech Coordinator would add these tags.
- Implementing Hard Stops: By adding a Tag Checklist to the curriculum reviewer form, asking if a product meets standards, they can trigger an Automation-Only Step to immediately halt the workflow and set the status to "Reviewed & Denied" if the response is negative.
Best Practices and Collaborative Insights
The collaborative Q&A session surfaced valuable best practices and strategies:
- Requester Form Questions: JCPS emphasized the importance of high-quality initial submissions. To avoid dead requests, they require a specific contact name and email (not generic ones like 'info' or 'sales'). They also require confirmation that a principal or supervisor supports the request.
- Transparency: Prosper ISD is developing and publicly posting rubrics for every single step of their review process to ensure transparency and consistency for all stakeholders, including external vendors.
- Reviewer Groups: JCPS utilizes multiple reviewers on a single form to expedite the process, allowing different internal teams to complete their review steps simultaneously instead of sequentially.
- Limiting Approval Scope: Prosper ISD is actively reviewing its 1,200+ approved tools to eliminate redundancies and stop approving individual "one-off" requests for a single campus. The goal is to focus on approving tools that benefit the entire district to better manage student data exposure.
Join the Conversation
The success of the "Steal My Workflow" session reinforced the reality that, regardless of district size or stage of implementation, EdTech workflows constantly evolve. If you couldn’t make it, plan on joining us at the next "Steal My Workflow" session on December 3rd! Invitations will go out mid October.
If you need assistance reviewing or modifying your current workflows, reach out to your dedicated Customer Success Manager (CSM) or explore available Strategic Services. We look forward to seeing you at the next event!
