Metadata Dictionary

What is a Metadata Dictionary?

 

Utah law requires districts and charter schools to create a “metadata dictionary,” or MDD for short. The metadata dictionary is basically a record of what student PII is being shared outside your LEA, and with whom it is being shared. The two primary components that should be included in your MDD, along with their subcomponents, are outlined in the table below.

 

Table 1: Components and subcomponents of a metadata dictionary

Products/Resources

Data Shared
  • List of products/resources that receive student PII
    • For each product/resource, the LEA must indicate the:
      • Purpose
      • Justification (federal requirement, state requirement, or local decision)
      • FERPA Exception (school official, audit/evaluation, directory information, parental consent, etc.)
  • List of data elements (types of student PII) shared with products/resources
  • Definitions of each of those data elements

 

Examples of metadata dictionaries can be found under the "Resources" tab on this page.