Student Privacy and FERPA

STEP Certified, a product of Tech Cleanup, Inc. Last updated August 15, 2026.

How STEP Certified handles student records

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), schools may share student education records with service providers acting as school officials with a legitimate educational interest. STEP Certified operates under this model: the school controls its students' records, and Tech Cleanup, Inc. processes them only to provide the platform, under the school's direction.

What this means in practice

• The school decides who is enrolled and which staff can see student work.
• Student records (progress, quiz scores, coach conversations, certification results) are visible only to the student and the school staff responsible for them.
• Tech Cleanup, Inc. does not sell student data, use it for advertising, or disclose it except to the service providers needed to run the platform, listed in our Privacy Policy.

Parent and eligible student rights

Parents, and students 18 or older, have the right to inspect the student's education records, request correction of inaccurate records, and request deletion when leaving the program. These requests go through the school, which can direct them to Tech Cleanup, Inc. where needed. We support schools in fulfilling every such request.

Parental consent

Where a school's program requires parental consent (for example, participation agreements the school distributes), the school manages that consent and records it. Certification exams offered through Certiport have their own parental consent form, which the school collects before a student sits an exam; that process belongs to the certification program, not to this platform's general operation.

Students under 13

STEP Certified serves K-12 schools, including elementary and middle schools. For students under 13, COPPA allows the school to consent to data collection on parents' behalf when the data is used solely for educational purposes, which is how STEP Certified operates: no advertising, no profiling, no sale of data, and deletion on the school's request. Parents keep the right to review or delete their child's information through the school.

Questions

Start with your school's administration; they hold the agreement with Tech Cleanup, Inc. and can raise any question or request with us directly.