Can you spot the PII before it gets pasted into AI?
Step into the role of a district privacy detective. You will investigate department-specific privacy risks, decide what should never be placed into AI tools, and solve tricky data combinations that can identify students, staff, or families.
Case File 01
Student ID numbers without names. Safe or restricted?
Case File 02
A bus route clipboard with home addresses left outside.
Case File 03
Only 12th-grade National Merit Finalist from Band.
Case File 04
Employee weight loss challenge sign-up sheet.
Clean Desk Sweep
Find the hidden PII in everyday school district scenes.
Scenario Title
Scenario text appears here.
Data Sentinel
You have an elite eye for privacy.
Questions to Review
What is PII in a School District?
Personally Identifiable Information, or PII, is information that can identify a specific student, staff member, parent, guardian, or household. Some PII is obvious, such as names and addresses. Some is less obvious, such as student ID numbers, device logs, routes, photos, small-group data, or combinations of details that point to one person.
🏫 School Sites
PII often appears in daily operations.
- Attendance screens
- Gradebooks and report cards
- Student schedules
- Discipline referrals
- Substitute plans with student needs
🧑🏫 Classrooms
Classroom data can be exposed quickly.
- Projected gradebooks
- Rosters on desks
- Student work with full names
- Accommodation notes
- Assessment scores
🚌 Transportation
Route information is highly sensitive.
- Bus rosters
- Home addresses
- Pickup/drop-off locations
- Behavior reports
- Bus camera footage
🩺 Health Services
Health information requires extra care.
- Medication logs
- Allergies tied to students
- Immunization records
- Diagnoses
- Nurse visit records
🍎 Food Services
Meal and allergy information may identify students.
- Free/reduced meal status
- Student meal accounts
- Allergy lists with names
- Point-of-sale data
- Dietary accommodations
💻 Technology
System data can still be PII.
- Login records
- Student ID numbers
- Device assignments
- Browsing or filtering logs
- Wi-Fi/location records
👥 Human Resources
Staff information also needs protection.
- Personal cell numbers
- Home addresses
- Payroll records
- Evaluation records
- Emergency contacts
🔧 Maintenance & Operations
Work orders can reveal sensitive details.
- ADA accommodation requests
- Student-specific repair reasons
- Camera footage requests
- Badge access logs
- Incident-related locations
📣 Communications
Photos and captions can create PII.
- Faces and names
- Small-group identifiers
- License plates
- Background rosters
- Unique achievements or descriptions
🧩 The Mosaic Rule
Small details can combine to identify someone.
- Grade level + rare award
- Small department survey data
- Address + device log
- Photo + unique caption
- Role + incident + date
✅ Better Habits
Reduce risk before sharing.
- Lock screens
- Clear printers
- Use secure sharing
- Redact unnecessary data
- Ask before posting
🚨 When in Doubt
Pause before sharing.
- Does this identify someone?
- Could it identify someone when combined?
- Does the audience need this?
- Is there a safer way?
- Ask your supervisor or privacy lead