California Professional Standards for Education Leaders · 5B–6
Promote understanding and follow the legal, social, and ethical use of technology among all members of the school community.
Responsible technology use is not a device rule. It is a shared practice of protecting people, evaluating consequences, and choosing tools that serve learning and public trust.
What this looks like in practice
{"Leaders connect legal requirements with lived questions"=>"privacy, accessibility, authorship, bias, safety, intellectual property, records, equitable access, and the environmental and human costs of a tool. Students and families need clear explanations and meaningful participation, not only acceptable-use forms."}
Product review should start with the educational task. Ask what manual process is being improved, which data moves where, who can access it, whether a lower-risk option exists, how errors are corrected, and what happens when the contract ends.
Developing the practice
Define responsible use
Translate policy into age- and role-appropriate examples, decision questions, and escalation paths for students, staff, and families.
Review before adoption
Examine purpose, accessibility, privacy, security, bias, interoperability, support, cost, records, and exit requirements.
Teach through incidents
Use mistakes and near misses to improve systems and judgment while applying fair, proportionate accountability.
Useful connections
California student data privacy laws
SDLA’s overview provides a practical entry point for understanding the state privacy landscape around educational technology.
AI Governance Coordinator
This emerging role illustrates how policy, instructional practice, privacy, procurement, and professional learning can be coordinated.
Questions for reflection and mentoring
- Can we explain the educational purpose and data flow of each approved tool in plain language?
- Where does policy compliance fall short of ethical responsibility?
- What non-digital or lower-risk path remains available when technology is not appropriate?