Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

The Washington School Information Processing Cooperative (“WSIPC,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) operates the FOYOST (“Follow Your Student”) platform. We are committed to protecting the privacy of the students, educators, and administrators we serve.[1] This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, and protect information when you visit foyost.org or access the FOYOST application.

2. Our Role as a Data Processor

FOYOST operates as a Data Processor on behalf of participating School Districts (“Districts”), who act as the Data Controllers.

  • Student Data is collected and processed solely at the direction of the District and in accordance with the Data Sharing Agreement (DSA) signed between WSIPC and the District.
  • We do not own the student data uploaded to FOYOST. The District retains full ownership and control.

3. Information We Collect

A. Student Education Records (Provided by District & NSC)
To provide the FOYOST analytics service, we process the following data elements on behalf of the District:

  • National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) Data: Postsecondary enrollment, persistence, and degree completion records.
  • District Attribute Data: Student IDs, demographics (race/ethnicity, gender), and program participation flags (e.g., AVID, CTE, Dual Credit status).
  • Protection of Records: This data is protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Washington State Law. We process this data strictly for educational purposes (School Official exception).

B. User Account Information
To grant access to District staff, we collect:

  • Name, Business Email Address, and Job Title.
  • Login credentials (managed via secure Single Sign-On or Azure Active Directory).

C. Usage Data & Analytics
We collect technical data to improve platform performance and security:

  • IP addresses, browser type, and device information.[2][3][4][5]
  • Usage logs (e.g., which reports are accessed most frequently).
  • Note: We do not build profiles of individual students for commercial purposes.

4. How We Use Information

We use the collected information for the sole purpose of fulfilling our charitable and educational mission:

  1. Providing Analytics: To visualize postsecondary outcomes for District staff.
  2. Platform Improvement: To analyze system performance and troubleshoot errors.
  3. Security: To detect and prevent unauthorized access or fraudulent activity.
  4. Grant Reporting: To report aggregate, de-identified project impact metrics to our funder, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (e.g., “50 districts actively used the tool”).

5. Data Sharing & Disclosure

We do not sell, rent, or trade student data.
We only share data in the following limited circumstances:

  • Authorized Sub-Processors: We may use trusted third-party vendors (e.g., Microsoft Azure for hosting) who are contractually bound to the same privacy standards as WSIPC.
  • Legal Requirements: If required by law, subpoena, or court order.
  • District Direction: If a District administrator explicitly directs us to share their data with a third party (e.g., a Community Based Organization partner).

6. Data Security

We employ enterprise-grade security measures aligned with industry standards (NIST), including:

  • Encryption of data in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest.
  • Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to ensure staff only see data relevant to their scope.
  • Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments.[1]

7. Contact Us

If you have questions about this policy or our data practices, please contact:
WSIPC Data Privacy Officer
2121 W. Casino Road, Everett, WA 98204
Email: privacy@wsipc.org or support@foyost.org

Last update: 12/18/2025