Deutsche Schule Kobe International
Privacy and Data Protection Policy
DSKI seeks to make sure that we are following the up to date Japanese data protection laws and that we are fully compliant and meeting our responsibilities.
The school will follow the Japanese law but will also recognize and follow the European Union General Data Protection Regulation and the American data protection laws due to the reciprocal agreement between the three blocks as per G20 Osaka 2019 intentions.
Personal Information
The school will not release personal information, reports or documentation in any form about a person or student without the written consent of the person, parents and the principal. If a third party contacts DSKI asking for any information about a student or family, DSKI will refuse until the above permission is obtained. All information will be stored securely and only released under the above conditions.
Parents personal emails will only be released with written or check box consent. All school provided email accounts should not be used for any non-school approved application, software or website. The school is allowed to block access to non-school approved applications, softwares, and websites if necessary. The school reserves the right to delete any school account that violates this policy.
The school is always in ownership of the school accounts and email addresses and the collected user data and usage history in any application, software or website.
When staff, parents, children and visitors use the school networks it must comply with our school policy as well as the Japanese law when browsing the internet or general usage. All usage data is owned by the school and therefore can be shared in the case of an official investigation by local authorities.
Software Applications
The school uses software and apps that are in full compliance with either Japanese or GDPR data protection laws due to the reciprocal agreements. The school also makes itself aware of the data protection and privacy policies of third party software. US compliance is not accepted.
When parents join the school they are asked to sign a declaration form giving their consent for the school. This ensures that all parents are aware that the school will use software and third party software that can collect personal data and also store it outside Japan.
(Declaration form point 8 We accept and agree that the school stores and uses personal data and also uses 3rd party software applications which may host data outside of Japan. The school only uses software compliant with Japanese law).
Photos and Video
Parents are also asked to give their consent for students to be published in photos or videos for marketing and other uses by the school. They can choose yes or no and all teachers are to be aware of students without photo permission and to be active if they notice a breach of this permission.
(Declaration form point 9 check box 1, We agree that the school will publish photos and videos of our child taken during school activities for use in print, social media and websites.)
If a visitor asks to be able to take photos or videos, for an official visitor it is okay to show faces as long as no individual student can be identified. For non official visitors e.g. interested families, no student faces should be taken in photos or videos.
The school will take all necessary measures to ensure any external third parties taking photos or making videos will be background checked to ensure suitability for association with DSKI. The final decision to work with them will be made by the principal.
Parents will be notified in advance that an external third party will take a photo and video of the student and be given the chance to opt-out.
Permission Records
The permission records are kept for a minimum of three years. The permission covers -
The day school
Saturday School
Clubs
Holiday camps
Any information received by DSKI from another school, e.g. report cards, will be printed out and then the electronic version will be deleted.
Student Records and Reports
Student records and report cards are only shared with the registered family. If the family needs them to be shared with a 3rd party they may copy and share it themselves. The school can also provide duplicates for a fee to the families which they can then share.
Personal Data Deletion
All personal Seesaw data of students will be securely deleted two years after the student has left the school. Any requests for access to personal data must be submitted within this two-year period, after which the data will no longer be retrievable.
Complaints Procedure
If a parent has a complaint about data protection and personal privacy, they can submit a complaint in writing to the school principal. If they are not happy with the outcome of the complaint they can take it to the school board for a final decision.