Breaking Up With Edtech Is Hard to Do

The piece recounts how the School District of Indian River County in Florida decided not to renew its five-year contract with an edtech company last spring, but the hardest part came after the breakup. Kerri Wall, the district’s senior digital innovation administrator and designated student data privacy officer, needed to confirm that the vendor had deletion-safe‑guarded student and parent information from its systems.

Her sales contact promised to connect her with engineering “in two weeks,” but by October there was still no confirmation that personally identifiable information such as names, cellphone numbers, grades and guardian details had been purged. Wall had signed a document with the Florida Department of Education making her personally responsible for ensuring that student data remains secure. According to EdSurge, the article highlights the ongoing risk and frustration of contract terminations in education technology.