Data Retention Policy
Last updated: March 17, 2026
This policy describes how long IEP Pulse retains different categories of data and how data is deleted when it is no longer needed.
1. Retention Periods
| Data Category | Retention Period | Deletion Method |
|---|---|---|
| Account information (email, name) | While account is active | Deleted immediately on account deletion |
| Student records (goals, observations, reports) | While account is active, or until educator deletes the student | Cascade delete: all goals, observations, observation data, reports, and files removed |
| Uploaded images (work samples) | While associated student exists | Deleted from storage when student is deleted |
| IEP PDF files (admin cloud upload only) | While associated student exists | Deleted from storage when student is deleted |
| Audit log entries | 1 year from creation | Automatically purged after retention period |
| Database backups | Up to 7 days (Supabase Pro) | Automatically rotated; deleted data purged within 30 days |
| Email notification content | Per Resend's retention policy | Managed by Resend |
| AI API inputs/outputs | Up to 30 days (Anthropic safety review) | Automatically purged by Anthropic; this may include de-identified text prompts and, in some features, teacher-uploaded media or documents |
2. Active Accounts
Student education records are retained for the duration of the educator's active account. We do not automatically delete student data based on time — educators control when data is removed.
We recommend that educators delete student records when they are no longer needed for progress monitoring (for example, when a student transfers to another school or the educator changes positions).
3. Inactive Accounts
If an account has had no login activity for 12 consecutive months, we will:
- Send an email notification to the account holder warning of potential data deletion
- Wait 30 days after notification
- If no response or login occurs, delete the account and all associated data
This policy ensures that student data is not retained indefinitely without an active educator managing it.
4. Educator-Initiated Deletion
Educators can delete data at any time:
- Delete a student: Removes the student and all associated goals, observations, observation data, progress reports, and uploaded files. This action is immediate and irreversible.
- Delete an observation: Removes the observation and all associated goal data points.
- Delete account: Removes all students, goals, observations, reports, files, sharing relationships, and the user account itself. This action is immediate and irreversible.
5. Backup and Recovery
Our database provider (Supabase) maintains daily backups retained for 7 days. When data is deleted from the primary database, it may persist in backups for up to 7 days before being purged through normal backup rotation. We do not restore deleted data from backups except in cases of accidental system-wide data loss.
6. Data Portability
Educators can export their data at any time via:
- Progress report generation (viewable and printable as PDF via browser print)
- Student profile views (containing goals, observations, and data summaries)
We are working on a comprehensive data export feature for future release.
7. Pending Access Requests
In compliance with FERPA, we will not destroy education records while a data access request from a parent, student, or authorized party is pending.
8. De-Identification
We do not currently use student data for analytics or product improvement. If we choose to do so in the future, all data will be fully de-identified (all direct and indirect identifiers removed) before use, and this policy will be updated with 30 days' advance notice.
9. Contact
For questions about data retention or to request data deletion:
Email: privacy@ieppulse.com