Parent Notification Form

Dear Parent/Guardian/Independent Student,

Every year, at the beginning of the year, we notify you of the online applications we use as a division. In addition, this year, your child's teacher or school wants to use Scratch.

What is Scratch?
Scratch helps students learn to code by using a simple, visual programming language to create stories, games, and animations. It tackles the challenge of building computational thinking and problem-solving in an engaging, hands-on way, moving kids from passive screen time to active invention. Unlike pen and paper, Scratch lets learners try ideas instantly, iterate, and share their work with a large, moderated global community, encouraging creativity, self-expression, and collaboration. Rooted in decades of research and offered free by the Scratch Foundation, it provides a safe, playful space where students bring ideas to life and grow confidence as creators while learning core computing concepts.

Why you are receiving this notice:
As a public organization we need to notify you when we intend to collect personal information. In addition, we need to inform you what allows us to collect this information. For Scratch, we are collecting personal information under the Alberta Protection of Privacy Act, SA 2024, c P-28.5, s 4(c) and the Alberta Education Act, SA 2012, c E-0.3, s 33(1).

📋 What Personal Information Does Scratch Collect?

Based on the information we have, Scratch may collect the following personal information about your child:

Medium Sensitivity Personal Information

Date Of Birth Full

Low Sensitivity Personal Information

Device Identifiers (e.g., MAC address)
Gender
IP Address
Language Spoken
Personal Phone Number
Social Media Usernames
Student's Personal Email
Student's Unstructured Work (e.g., essays)

General Profile Personal Information

Job Title (for staff)
Platform Usage Analytics
School & Class Information

🎯 How is the personal information used?

Grasslands Public Schools Uses of Collected Personal Information

To provide this app as a core learning tool for your child (Education Act, Sec. 33(1)(a))
To communicate with parents, students, and staff (Education Act, Sec. 33(1)(c))
To collaborate with post-secondary institutions and the community to enable smooth student transitions (Section 33(1)g).

Scratch Uses of Collected Personal Information

⚠️To detect and prevent fraud or unauthorized access
To provide the basic features of the app and make it work
To share data with outside companies to analyze how the app is used
To manage accounts, billing, and send important service messages
To improve the product by analyzing how people use it

🔒 How Personal Information is Protected

Based on available documentation, here's what we know about data protection for Scratch:

⚠

Security Measures

Gaps

The most sensitive data appears to be full date of birth and identifiable student work. The vendor states data is protected in transit with SSL/TLS. The vendor does not state encryption at rest or any security certifications. Given these data types, the documented safeguards appear limited for the sensitivity involved.

⚠

Data Sharing Practices

Partial

The vendor states it does not sell student information. However, documentation indicates sharing with third-party analytics and research institutions without naming specific partners or clearly explaining purposes and limits.

✓

Policy Completeness

Good

The documentation does not state encryption at rest, incident response, or breach notification steps. It also lacks security certifications and a public list of service providers. Data deletion timing is not detailed, which creates uncertainty. Documentation indicates data may be stored outside Canada, which means different privacy laws may apply.

⚠

Parent & Student Rights