KSDE’s Information Technology (IT) team put together a team of experts to help school technology directors and staff members, along with superintendents, principals and others who are interested, navigate the complex and critical practices of cybersecurity and data privacy.  

The 60-minute webinars take place at 1 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month in February, March, April, May and June.  

Advance registration is required for each event. Registrants will receive a confirmation email containing information for joining the webinar.  

Brittani Fairchild, a data privacy analyst, will lead the Feb. 21 session, “Vetting Online Educational Services.” In this presentation, she will discuss how FERPA applies in the context of education technology and provide a roadmap to understanding how to protect student privacy in the digital context. Register now by clicking here.  

Other sessions include:  

• 1 p.m., Wednesday, March 20: Creating a Cybersecurity Framework 1” – Developed by K-12 IT practitioners for K-12 IT practitioners, and aligned to cybersecurity risk management best practices, the K12 Security Information eXchange (K12 SIX) Essentials series establishes baseline cybersecurity standards for United States school districts. It also provides guidance and tools to support their implementation. This session is presented by Doug Levin, co-founder and national director of K12 SIX. Register now by clicking here.  
• 1 p.m., Wednesday, April 17: “Creating a Cybersecurity Framework 2” – This session is presented by Levin. Register now by clicking here.  
• 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 15: “FERPA 201 for IT” – PTAC challenges all attendees to put their knowledge about FERPA to the test. In this session, attendees will explore complex and varied real-world scenarios around student privacy. This session, led by Fairchild, will provide a forum for discussion of complex issues regarding FERPA. Register now by clicking here.  
• 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 19: “Disaster Recovery Plans for IT” – More session information will be provided at a later date. This session will be led by Samuel Alva, a cybersecurity adviser for Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Register now by clicking here.