Burke County Public Schools Earns National Recognition for Student Data Privacy Work

Washington, D.C. (August 26, 2024) – CoSN today awarded the Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) Mini Seal in Leadership and Classroom practices to Burke County Public Schools. The CoSN TLE Mini Seal is a national distinction awarded to school districts that implement rigorous privacy policies and practices to help protect student information.

The CoSN TLE Seal Program requires school systems to have implemented high standards for protecting student data privacy across five core practice areas: Leadership, Business, Data Security, Professional Development and Classroom. The new TLE Mini Seal Program allows school districts across the country to earn recognition for one or more practice areas, providing districts with feedback and guidance on their privacy practices before tackling the full TLE privacy framework.

“Congratulations to Burke County Public Schools for earning the Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) Mini Seals in the practice areas of Leadership and Classroom. This achievement is a testament to their dedication to safeguarding student data privacy. It also highlights the effectiveness of the partnership between CoSN and the North Carolina Department of Instruction in supporting student data privacy efforts across the state. We are proud to see such impactful progress and commitment to protecting student information,” said Keith Krueger, CEO, CoSN.

“After facing the challenges of a ransomware attack, followed by the onset of COVID-19 and school closures, we realized just how crucial it was to protect our network, data, staff and students online. In the years leading up to these events, we conducted multiple network assessments and took immediate action on critical issues,” said Melanie Honeycutt, CIO, Burke County Public Schools. “Pursuing the CoSN Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) Seal became our personal mission. It’s more than just a certification — it’s a promise to our students, staff and community that we are committed to safeguarding their personal information. The TLE Seal, recognized as a mark of excellence in data privacy and security, aligns perfectly with our core values of trust, transparency and accountability.”

The CoSN TLE Seal is the only privacy framework designed specifically for school systems. Earning the TLE Seal requires that school systems have taken measurable steps to implement, maintain and improve organization-wide student data privacy practices. All TLE Seal recipients are required to demonstrate that improvement through a reapplication process every two years.