Data protection in the classroom: Minister stresses importance of research project

The aim of the project is to establish a general seal of approval for certification of educational information systems such as learning apps or platforms that guarantees data protection.

Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger commented: "The Corona pandemic has made us all aware of how great the deficits are in the digitization of education. This applies not only to the infrastructure and equipment of schools, but also to data protection. Here, security gaps in learning apps and platforms have caused uncertainty among teachers, parents and students. To address the problem, learning apps and platforms need to be certified by independent testing bodies."

According to Stark-Watzinger, this would benefit everyone involved: "Students and their data would be better protected, decision-makers in the states and at schools would have more legal certainty when selecting educational products, and providers would have greater clarity about the requirements. With this research project, we are laying the foundation for this. I am very pleased that a large number of providers, school administrators, supervisory authorities and other stakeholders from education and research are accompanying and supporting this important project."

The six-year DIRECTIONS project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with approximately 6.4 million euros. It is being carried out by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the University of Kassel, and datenschutz cert GmbH. The Kassel part is under the responsibility of Prof. Dr. Gerrit Hornung, Department of Public Law, IT Law & Environmental Law.

In data privacy law, seals of approval and certificates for IT applications are the only way to prove that data privacy requirements have been met. Such approaches have been lacking for school applications to date. In order to establish digital media and services in school teaching, their legally secure use must meet the requirements of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In particular, the fact that their use generates data that allows statements to be made about the learning, communication, and attention habits of minors creates a great deal of pressure to act.

On the initiative of the BMBF, the basic idea of a future data protection certification was conceptually developed with the participation of state representatives, data protection officers and scientific stakeholders. With the help of a seal of approval (Level I) and data protection certification (Level II), the target groups involved are to receive binding information about the digital offerings to be used in schools. Products tested and certified in this way can help to transport digital teaching-learning concepts for use in schools more widely.