How to request deletion of your child’s data
Amira works with your child’s school district as a service provider. The district decides what we collect, what we do with it, and how long we keep it.
So we cannot act on a request that comes directly to us. But you also do not need us to say yes. Once your district instructs us, we act.
Your child’s records belong to the district. We hold them on the district’s behalf and act on the district’s instructions. Your district is the fastest path.
Send it to the right person
This is the step that most affects how quickly you get an answer. A letter addressed to the principal or superintendent usually gets forwarded several times before it reaches someone who can act on it.
Ask your school office, or check the district website, for whichever of these your district has:
- Records custodian or student records officer: most districts. This is the person named in your district’s annual FERPA notice.
- Privacy officer
- SOPPA Representative: Illinois districts specifically
- Data Protection Officer: New York districts specifically
- Technology director: smaller districts often route it here
Copy the principal if you like, but address it to the role above.
Some states require districts to publish their vendor agreements online, including Illinois and Connecticut. If your district posts these, that page usually names the right contact too.
Be specific about what you are asking for
Districts can act much faster on a specific request than on a general one. There are three distinct things you can ask your district to obtain from us, and you can ask for any combination:
- An inventory: a description of the categories of information collected about your child.
- Review and deletion: access to that information, and deletion of some or all of it.
- A stop on further collection: an instruction that we stop collecting or using your child’s information going forward.
Many families find it works best to ask for the inventory first, then name specific items for deletion. You have a federal right to inspect and review your child’s education records, and the district generally must respond within 45 days.
Include your child’s full name, date of birth, student ID, school, and grade; name Amira Learning specifically; and ask for written confirmation of what was done. Keep a dated copy.
Know what your state adds
Deletion rights vary considerably by state, and your district’s privacy contact can tell you which apply to you. A few examples:
- Illinois: you can ask your school to request deletion on your behalf, and the school must make that request to the vendor. Illinois also limits inspection requests to one per state fiscal quarter, so make the first one count.
- Texas: the district requests deletion; the vendor has 60 days.
- Colorado: the district requests destruction; the vendor acts as soon as practicable.
- California: the district directs deletion; your state rights center on reviewing and correcting.
- New York and Connecticut: state law gives you review and correction rights rather than a standalone deletion right, though district agreements often provide for deletion anyway.
If your state is not listed, ask your district. Every state differs, and several have changed recently.
What to expect
- Often deletable: data we hold that is not part of the district’s required student record.
- Often not: records the district is legally required to keep. Every state has records retention rules, and assessment results that have become part of your child’s cumulative file may fall under them. Illinois law says this outright: deletion cannot violate other records laws. This usually is not the district declining; they may not have the option.
- Generally outside the request: information already de-identified or aggregated so that it no longer identifies your child.
If something cannot be deleted, it is reasonable to ask the district to tell you why in writing.
If you do not hear back
- Follow up in writing, referencing your original date.
- New York: escalate to the State Education Department’s Chief Privacy Officer. Districts must provide findings on a complaint within 60 calendar days.
- Illinois: the Illinois State Board of Education oversees SOPPA compliance.
- Any state: you can file a FERPA complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Privacy Policy Office.
Amira’s part
When your district sends us a deletion instruction, we act on it under the terms of our agreement with them and confirm back to the district in writing. If you contact us directly, we will point you to your district and let the district know you reached out, so it is not a surprise when you call.
Where to learn more
- U.S. Department of Education, Student Privacy Policy Office (opens in a new tab): plain-language guides to your rights under FERPA, including A Parent Guide to FERPA.
- Parent Coalition for Student Privacy (opens in a new tab): free template letters for exercising FERPA and COPPA rights. The misspelling in that web address is theirs, not a typo.
This is general information, not legal advice. Your district’s privacy contact is the authoritative source for your situation.
Have a specific question related to trust or compliance?
Our team can help your district evaluate Amira’s privacy, security, data-management, and contractual practices. You can also read more in the Amira Trust Center.
trust@amiralearning.com