President's Environmental Youth Award

Todays Youth Protecting Tomorrows Environment

*>EPA

Section 1: Program History

The President's Environmental Youth Awards (PEYA) recognizes outstanding environmental
projects by K-12 youth. PEYA promotes awareness of our nation's natural resources and
encourage positive community involvement. Each year the PEYA program honors a wide variety
of projects developed by young individuals, school classes (kindergarten through high school),
summer camps, public interest groups, and youth organizations to promote environmental
awareness.

Past projects have included building nature trails, starting recycling programs, restoring native
habitats, installing renewable energy projects, and participating in many other creative,
sustainable efforts. To read about past award-winning projects, visit:

https://www.epa.gov/education/presidents-environmental-vouth-award-peya-winners

Section 2: How the Program Works

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ten regional offices across the country.
Each regional office will be responsible for selecting up to two winners per region, based on the
evaluation criteria in Section 6. Applicants are welcome to include youth across multiple grade
levels; however, the application will be categorized based on the applicant with the highest-grade
level. For example, if one applicant group consists of two 4 th graders, one 3rd grader and one 6th
grader, the application will be evaluated in the Grade 6-12 category.

Each award-winning project will receive a Presidential plaque. All qualified applicants will
receive recognition from EPA leadership honoring them for their efforts to protect human health
and the environment.

Section 3: Program Eligibility

•	Project is completed while the applicant(s) is in kindergarten through 12th grade.

•	Applicant(s) is a citizen of the United States or its territories or has been lawfully
admitted for permanent residency.

•	Project is sponsored by at least one adult over the age of 21.

•	Projects started on or after January 1, 2020 are eligible for consideration. As long as there
was activity on the project after January 1, 2020, a project initiated prior to that date is
eligible for consideration.

•	Projects must include an environmental stewardship component.

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Section 4: Project Sponsors

Each applicant or group of applicants applying for PEYA must be represented preferably by a
teacher sponsor. If the sponsor is not a teacher, the sponsor must seek a co-sponsor that is a
teacher. The sponsor/co-sponsor must be an adult at least 21 years of age and may be a parent,
teacher, youth group adviser, summer camp counselor or community leader. The teacher must
certify that the project was performed by the applicant(s). The sponsor/co-sponsor, in cases of
non-teacher sponsors, must also sign and date the application. For home-schooled applicants,
the teacher-sponsor can be a parent; one parent should serve as the lead teacher contact for a
team of home-schooled applicants.

The adult sponsor plays an important role in helping a young person or group of young people
carry out a project and apply for PEYA. Typically, a sponsor/co-sponsor offers suggestions
and advice throughout the project to: develop a well-thought-out project; implement the project;
work with other groups and individuals in the community; complete the application form (for
K-5 applicants); and assist in preparing accompanying materials.

Application Validation

•	By signing, both the teacher and sponsor/co-sponsor(s) certify that the applicant(s) has
performed this project.

•	The teacher is responsible for receiving PEYA awards for non-attending winners at school
location.

•	The teacher is responsible for coordinating with the sponsor and co-sponsor to distribute the
awards and certificates.

•	The teacher and sponsor/co-sponsor (s) confirm receipt of a signed Consent for PEYA Student
Works form and a signed PEYA Permission Slip from the parent or guardian of the applicant(s)

Questions about teacher or sponsor/co-sponsor's role should be directed to PEYA@epa.gov.

Section 5: How to Apply

A blank application is provided on page A-l. A PDF version of this document can be viewed or
downloaded at:

https://www.epa.gov/education/presidents-environmental-vouth-award-peya-application
Application Requirements

•	A project summary of up to 300 words must be provided on the application form. A
more detailed description of the project, no more than five pages, and addressing each
of the evaluation criterion should be attached to the application.

•	Applicants that are applying in the 6-12 grade level category must complete the project
summary section themselves as well as the project description. Applicants in the K-5
grade level may be advised by the sponsor /co-sponsors and may assist in the writing of
the project summary and description.

•	Applicants may submit up to five additional pages of photographs, newspaper articles,
and other supporting materials to provide a more comprehensive view of the project.
Accompanying videos must be web-based with functioning links (e.g., no CDs).

•	Each applicant or team of applicants applying for PEYA must be represented preferably
by a teacher sponsor. Sponsors/co-sponsor must sign and date page A-3 of the
application.

•	All application materials must be received by February 19, 2021. See instructions below
for submitting an application.


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Consent for PEYA Student Works form and PEYA Permission Slip

•	Two forms found at the end of this application, the Consent for PEYA Student Works
form and PEYA Permission Slip, must be signed by the parents or legal guardian of each
applicant and included with the application materials submitted unless the student is 18
years of age or older at the time of application.

•	Please contact us at PEYA@epa.gov to obtain an alternate PEYA Student Works form
that is signed by students age 18 years of age or older at the time of application.

•	Prior to signing the PEYA Permission Slip, parents and guardians should review EPA's
privacy policy found at the end of this application and at:
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2013-ll/documents/2182g.pdf

•	For privacy purposes, EPA will not use the last names of children in the award ceremony
speeches, in press releases, or on its website. We will share the video and photographs
with teacher and sponsor/co-sponsors after the event along with any press releases.

Application Submission

•	Application materials are typically submitted by teachers and sponsors given their role in
collecting application forms and to protect the online privacy of the applicant(s)

•	For this year's competition, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit all application
materials electronically (email). If you plan to mail some or all of your application
materials, please contact us at PEYA@epa.gov so that we can ensure receipt.

•	Email completed application materials to PEYA@epa.gov by 11:59 p.m. ET on
February 19, 2021. Applicants are encouraged to combine complete set of application
materials into a single email. To ensure receipt please also contact us if you have a ZIP
file or file attachments over 20MB.

•	All teachers and sponsors/co-sponsors will receive a confirmation email upon receipt of
the application package.

•	Mailed applications must be received by February 19, 2021, at the address below to be
eligible for consideration:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Environmental Education

ATTN: President's Environmental Youth Award Program

William Jefferson Clinton North, Room 1426

1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, MC 1704-A Washington, DC 20460

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Section 6: How Applications Are Judged

Each application is evaluated by a regional awards panel. The panel members review and evaluate
each application based on the criteria below. There are separate evaluation criteria for K-5 and
6-12 applications. A maximum of 100 points can be awarded to each application

Evaluation Criteria K-5 (100 points)

Youth Initiative (15 points)

How did the applicant(s) come up with the idea for the project? To what extent does the
applicant(s) take charge of the project?

Environmental Stewardship * and Impact (30 points)

Was there an environmental stewardship component to the project? How did the
applicant(s) identify the environmental need for this project? How did the
project positively affect the environment? Did the applicant(s) complete the
project?

Achieving Competition Goals (15points)

Winning projects may highlight environmental stewardship in a variety of areas, including
the following: climate change; environmental sustainability; a healthy school environment,
including projects that reduce food waste in school cafeterias; environmentally friendly
agriculture practices; reducing and preventing human contributions to ocean litter; school
gardens; recycling; or using STEM to teach environmental education.

How did the project address one of the focus areas of the competition including: climate
change; projects that reduce food waste in school cafeterias; environmentally friendly
agriculture practices; reducing and preventing human contributions to ocean litter; school
gardens; recycling; or using STEM to teach environmental education?

Community Involvement (15 points)

To what extent did the project involve others in the school or community? Please
describe the community.

Project Creativity and/or Innovation (15 points)

What creative and/or innovative approach(es) did the applicant(s) use for the project?

Project Approach (10 points)

To what extent does the application tell a complete story about the project? Did the
applicant(s) have a thought-out approach to solving the problem?

*Definition: "Environmental or Conservation Stewardship" is voluntary commitment, behavior,
and action that results in environmental protection or improvement, or conservation of our
natural resources. Stewardship refers to an acceptance of personal responsibility for actions to
improve environmental quality and to achieve conservation outcomes. Stewardship involves
lifestyles and business practices, initiatives and actions that enhance the state of the environment
and natural resources. Some examples are: living or conducting business in such a way as to
minimize or eliminate pollution at its source; using natural resources efficiently; decreasing the
use of hazardous chemicals; recycling wastes effectively; and conserving or restoring soil,
forests, prairies, wetlands, rivers, and parks. Stewardship can be practiced by individuals, groups,
schools, organizations, companies, communities, and state and local governments.

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Evaluation Criteria 6-12 (100 points)

Youth Initiative (15 points)

To what extent was the project designed, coordinated and implemented due to
applicant(s) initiative? How was the project created and completed by the applicant(s)?
The driving force for the project must be the applicant(s), not the sponsor/co-sponsor.

Environmental Need and Appropriateness (20 points)

To what extent was there a clear environmental need for the project? How appropriate
was the project for the community in which it was performed?

Environmental Stewardship * and Impact (15 points)

Was there an environmental stewardship component to the project? How did the project
positively affect the community? Were there any long-term environmental benefits or
outcomes of the project? Did applicant(s) complete the project?

Achieving Competition Goals (15 points)

Winning projects may highlight environmental stewardship in a variety of areas, including the
following: climate change; environmental sustainability; a healthy school environment,
including projects that reduce food waste in school cafeterias; environmentally friendly
agriculture practices; reducing and preventing human contributions to ocean litter; school
gardens; recycling; or using STEM to teach environmental education.

How did the project address one of the focus areas of the competition including: climate
change; projects that reduce food waste in school cafeterias; environmentally friendly
agriculture practices; reducing and preventing human contributions to ocean litter; school
gardens; recycling; or using STEM to teach environmental education?

Community Involvement (15 points)

To what extent did the project positively involve others in the community? Please
describe the community. What community resources, expertise, leadership, or publicity
did the applicant(s) use?

Project Creativity and Innovation (10 points)

How did the applicant(s) use innovative approaches to achieve positive results?

Soundness of Approach, Rationale, and Scientific Design (10 points)

Was the approach to the problem clear? Did the applicant(s) have a sound justification for
choosing that approach? If so, what is that justification?

*Definition: "Environmental or Conservation Stewardship" is voluntary commitment, behavior,
and action that results in environmental protection or improvement, or conservation of our
natural resources. Stewardship refers to an acceptance of personal responsibility for actions to
improve environmental quality and to achieve conservation outcomes. Stewardship involves
lifestyles and business practices, initiatives and actions that enhance the state of the environment
and natural resources. Some examples are: living or conducting business in such a way as to
minimize or eliminate pollution at its source; using natural resources efficiently; decreasing the
use of hazardous chemicals; recycling wastes effectively; and conserving or restoring soil,
forests, prairies, wetlands, rivers, and parks. Stewardship can be practiced by individuals, groups,
schools, organizations, companies, communities, and state and local governments.

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Individual Application

Full Name



Project Title



Project Location:

(project city, state/territory,
ZIP code and school name)



Project Start Date



Project End Date (if applicable)



OR

Team Application

Team Name



Project Title



Project Location:

(project city, state/territory,
ZIP code and school name)



Total Number of Applicants



Project Start Date



Project End Date (if applicable)



Please check the box below for the applicable grade level category:

~	K-5 ~ 6-12

Did the project receive press coverage? If yes, please attach press clippings.

~	Yes ~ No

Applicant Grade Level(s):

Complete the table below with information for each of the applicant(s). Each applicant under 18 at
time of application must have a signed Consent for PEYA Student Works form and a signed PEYA
Permission Slip from their parent or guardian. Please contact us at PEYA(a),epa.gov for alternate forms signed by students
age 18 or older at time of application.

Full Name

Grade





























President's Environmental Youth Award Application

Revised January 2021

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Full Name

Grade





























Teacher

Teachers provide work associated information ONLY. For home-schooled applicants, the teacher-sponsor can
be a parent and provide work or personal contact information. One parent should serve as the lead teacher
contact for a team of home-schooled applicants. The teacher (or parent of home-schooled applicant) and
sponsor / co-sponsor (if applicable) must sign and date page A-3 of the application.

Full Name



School Name/Street Address/
City/State or Territory/ZIP:



Relationship to Applicant(s)

~ Sponsor ~ Co-sponsor

Work Phone Number



Work Email



Sponsor/Co-sponsor (if applicable)

Full Name



Relationship to Applicant(s)

~ Sponsor ~ Co-sponsor

Phone Number



Email



President's Environmental Youth Award Application

Revised January 2021

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Description of the Project

Please provide a brief project summary (of up to 300 words in Times Roman 12pt font) of the project
in the space provided below describing the project's purpose and goals and identifying the results
achieved. No hand-written project summaries, and please do not include student(s) last name(s).

A more detailed description of the project, addressing the evaluation criteria, should be included separately in
3-5 pages, double-spaced, Times New Roman, font size 12. No hand-written project descriptions, and please do
not include student(s) last name(s). You may also include up to 5 additional pages of photographs, press
clippings, and other supporting materials.

By signing below, the teacher and sponsor/co-sponsor(s) certify that the applicant(s) has
performed this project. The teacher and sponsor/co-sponsor(s) also confirm receipt of a signed Consent
for PEYA Student Works form and a signed PEYA Permission Slip from the parent or guardian of the
applicant(s). If needed, please refer to these instructions for e-signing a PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader.

		Date:

Teacher Signature

		Date:

Sponsor / Co-sponsor Signature

President's Environmental Youth Award Application

Revised January 2021

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UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460

Consent for PEYA Student Works

THE PARENT / LEGAL GUARDIAN

Printed Full Name (hereinafter referred to as "the Parent and/or Legal Guardian")

THE CHILD

Printed Full Name (hereinafter referred to as "my Child")

As the Parent and/or Legal Guardian of the above-named child, I hereby grant a non-exclusive, no-cost,
worldwide, transferable, irrevocable license in all media and languages now or hereafter known to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authorizing EPA and others acting on its behalf to publish, use,
duplicate, disclose, exhibit, display, modify or edit the following work or works, as listed below by title and/or
description, which have been created by my Child, including any related audio recordings, videos, transcriptions,
and presentation materials ("the Work" or "Works"):

I.

2.

3.

I understand and agree that the Work or Works may be edited and used in whole or in part for EPA's purposes
and/or the purposes of those acting on EPA's behalf, including for broadcast, publication, promotion, and
publicity, as well as posting online to the worldwide web and for inclusion within the public access file created
for EPA's President's Environmental Education Youth Award (PEYA) program.

I represent and warrant that I am authorized to provide the license or licenses granted herein, and that (1) the
Work or Works are original to the above-named Child, and do not contain any material that would violate the
copyrights, trademarks, or any other property rights of others, or (2) that I have obtained sufficient rights with
respect to any third party materials included in the Work or Works to provide the license or licenses herein.

Signature (Parent / Guardian)

Date

If needed, please refer to these instructions for e-sisnins a PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader.


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UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460

PEYA Permission Slip

Dear Parent / Guardian:

Your child is applying to participate in the President's Environmental Education Youth Award (PEYA) program. Because thisU.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) program includes features that require us to collect personal information from your child, we are contacting you to obtain
your consent so that your child may participate in the program, as described below.

Please read EPA's privacy policy, which can be found at (https://www.epa. gov/sites/production/files/2013-11/

documents/2182g.pdf) and attached to this form. If this privacy policy and the terms represented below are acceptable to you, please provide your
consent by signing this form. Signed forms should be returned to the teacher or project sponsor / co-sponsor helping to complete your child's PEYA
application.

The PEYA program requires parental/legal guardian consent from all minors under the age of 18 seeking to participate in the program. This form
also satisfies requirements of the Children's Online Privacy Protect Act (COPPA), under which the owners of certain types of websites and online
services must obtain "verifiable parental consent" before collecting, using or disclosing personal information from children under the age of 13.

With your signature below, you hereby attest to the following:

1.	I am 18 years of age or older and the parent/legal guardian of	(my Child).

2.	I have read the EPA privacy policy, linked above, and consent to my Child's participation in the PEYA program.

3.	In connection with the PEYA program, I also consent to EPA's disclosure of my Child's first and last name, the name of their
school (city and state), the name of their project and their grade level.

4.	I further consent to the potential disclosure of this information on EPA's social media and/or webpages to promote my child's

environmental project. I understand that EPA employees administrating the PEYA program will potentially use this information
to promote participating students, such as my Child, and their environmental projects through national and regional press releases, EPA-
produced videos, EPA's official website, printed PEYA program awards booklets, and EPA social media pages displayed on online
platforms such as Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter.

5.	I understand that EPA employees may also use my Child's personal information to connect my Child to other children
participating in the program through an online community featuring past PEYA winners (e.g., via Facebook groups, Linkedln).

6.	I understand that EPA videotapes and photographs the PEYA ceremony. EPA intends the video and photographs to be used for
informational, educational, and/or public relations purposes both within the EPA and by the general public. I understand
the video and photographs from the ceremony may feature my Child's image and/or voice and may appear online as soon as 30 minutes
after the taping. I understand the video and/or photographs will remain online indefinitely and may subsequently appear in
EPA hard copy publications or other non-EPA publications that EPA deems appropriate to help promote or publicize the event or purpose
for which the video, photo(s) and/or voice recording was prepared.

7.	I authorize disclosure and release of the video, photo(s) and/or voice recording to EPA.

8.	I have read and understand the foregoing and I consent to the use of my Child's video, photo(s) and/or voice recording as
specified for the above-described purpose(s). I further understand that no royalty, fee or other compensation of any character shall become
payable to me or my custodian by EPA for such use. I understand that consent to use my Child's video, photo(s) and/or voice recording
is voluntary.

9.	In addition, I waive the right to inspect or approve the finished product, including written or electronic copy, wherein mine or that of
my Child's video likeness appears.

10.	I hereby hold harmless and release and forever discharge the United States and EPA from all claims, demands, and causes of action
which I and/or my Child, heirs, representatives, executors, administrators, or any other persons acting on my behalf or on behalf of my estate
or that of my custodian have or may have by reason of this authorization.

11.	As the legal guardian/custodian of my Child, I am competent to contract in my own name and/or in the name of my Child. I have
read this release before signing below and I fully understand the contents, meaning, and impact of this release.

Parent / Guardian Signature

Parent / Guardian Printed Full Name

Date


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£ rp/V INFORMATION DIRECTIVE

GUIDANCE

Children's Privacy Notice Guidance

Directive No.: CIO 2182-G-01.1

CIO Approval: 5-22-2018

Transmittal No.: 18-006

Issued by the EPA Chief Information Officer,
Pursuant to Delegation 1-19, dated 07/07/2005

Children's Privacy Notice Guidance

1. PURPOSE

This guidance addresses the notice and consent requirements of the Children's Online
Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and provides suggested wording Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) offices could use when soliciting personally identifiable
information (Pll) from children online as part of an outreach effort. When requesting Pll
from children under 13, EPA offices must provide a notice to parents and receive their
consent to obtain the information, in accordance with COPPA. EPA offices will provide a
notice similar to the template included in the Appendix B of this EPA Information Guidance
document.

2. SCOPE

This guidance is applicable to the EPA public access websites and EPA Intranet, including
websites EPA co-sponsors or co-owns in partnerships.

For purposes of this guidance, "websites" or "web pages" is used interchangeably and
refers to the applicable websites above.

3. AUDIENCE

The audience for this guidance includes, but is not limited to, EPA employees and
contractors who develop or approve outreach materials, web pages and educational
programs directed at children.

4. BACKGROUND

COPPA of 1998 and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Final Rule, as amended in
2013, applies to operators of websites and online services directed to, or that knowingly
collect, use, or disclose personal information from children under 13. Although the Act by
its own terms applies only to the private sector, the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) has directed that all federal websites comply with the standards set forth in the Act.

To inform parents of their information practices, operators of affected websites are
required to provide direct notice to parents and obtain "verifiable parental consent" before
collecting, using or disclosing personal information from children. Operators must also
provide parents a choice to allow information collection for internal use, but limit further
disclosure and provide parents the ability to review their child's personal information. It is
important to note that COPPA applies only when a website operator solicits and/or collects
personal information from children through online sources (e.g. websites, e-mail); COPPA
does not apply when such information is collected offline. Further, COPPA does not apply

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INFORMATION DIRECTIVE

POLICY

Children's Privacy Notice Guidance

Directive No.: CIO 2182-G-01.1 CIO Approval: 5-22-2018

Transmittal No.: 18-006

to information collected from adults about children. However, EPA policy addresses
privacy protection for the offline collection of Pll as well.

5. AUTHORITY

Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998, 15 U.S.C. 6501-6506

(https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemakinq-requlatorv-reform-

proceedings/childrens-online-privacv-protection-rule)

Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule: Final Rule Amendments to Clarify the Scope of
the Rule and Strengthen Its Protections for Children's Personal Information; 16 C.F.R. Part
312, January 17, 2013

(https://www.ftc.oov/svstem/files/2012-31341 .pdf)

CIO 2155.3 Records Management Policy, February 10, 2015
(https://www.epa.gOv/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/cio-2155.3.pdf)

OMB Memorandum M-03-22, "OMB Guidance for Implementing the Privacy Provisions of
the E-Government Act of 2002 Attachment C," September 26, 2003

(https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/memoranda m03-22/)

CIO 2182.0 Children's Privacy and Children's Copyright Policy, October 25, 2007
(https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2013-11/documents/2182p.pdf)

6. GUIDANCE

A.	Notice: EPA must post a clearly and prominently labeled link to its privacy policy on
the home page of its websites or other online services (like social media, mobile apps,
etc.), and provide a link to the Policy at each area of the site or service where personal
information is collected from children.

B.	Images: COPPA applies to photos, videos, and audio files that contain children's
images or voices. It also applies to geolocation data contained in these files sufficient
to identify street name and name of city, county or town. Further, it applies to any
"persistent identifiers" (like screen names, user names, Twitter handles, etc.) collected
via the children's upload of their photos. Therefore, in order for EPA to offer a
program that will post photos without parental notice and consent, the Agency must
pre-screen the children's photos in order to delete any that depict images of children
or to delete the applicable portion of the photo, if possible. The Agency must also

Privacy

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Q CPA INFORMATION DIRECTIVE

\/ClM POLICY

Children's Privacy Notice Guidance

Directive No.: CIO 2182-G-01.1

CIO Approval: 5-22-2018

Transmittal No.: 18-006

remove any other personal information, for example, geolocation metadata, contained
in the photos prior to posting them through the EPA public access websites, social
media accounts, or Agency administered apps.

C.	Social Media: COPPA applies to Agency efforts on social media directed to children
under 13, even if the information is collected passively. COPPA defines "collecting" to
include requesting, prompting, or encouraging a child to submit personal information
online and enabling a child to make personal information publicly available in
identifiable form, including on a third party social media platform. To the extent EPA
directly solicits responses from children on social media platforms, EPA must receive
verifiable parental consent before enabling children to share personal information on a
third party social media platform.

D.	Agency Contests: COPPA has a "one-time contact" exception for contests where only
children's online contact information is collected to enter them into a contest and the
only other contact once the contest ends to notify them if they have won or lost. At that
point, all contact information must be deleted. For contests that will involve multiple
contacts with children, the "multiple contact exception" will apply if the Agency also
collects a parent's online contact information and provides parents direct notice of the
EPA Children's Privacy Policy and an opportunity to opt out. In either case, the
children's online contact information cannot be used for any other purpose and the
Agency must ensure the security of the information.

E.	Answering questions submitted online from children reasonably believed to be under
the age of 13: The Agency may respond to questions submitted online from children,
but the child's contact information will need to be deleted according to the appropriate
records schedule after the question has been answered.

F.	Participating in school associated events: Schools may act as the parent's agent and
can consent to the collection of kids' information on the parent's behalf as long as the
associated event is limited to the educational context. When participating in a school
event, the Agency must provide the school with a description of the information it may
collect, provide the school the EPA Children's Privacy Policy, and obtain consent from
the school - preferably from an administrator. Once consent from the school has been
obtained, the Agency can rely on this consent to collect and use personal information
(such as pictures, emails, etc.) from children at the school as long as it is connected to
the educational program.

G.	Sample Language for "Notice to Parents and Other Persons Submitting Contributions
in Response to this Request"

It is EPA policy not to collect information online about or from children under the age
of 13 except when it is needed to identify submissions from children or to answer
questions from children relating to the environment. Any such instances where
information is collected on websites for children will be clearly marked. Information

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INFORMATION DIRECTIVE

POLICY

Children's Privacy Notice Guidance

Directive No.: CIO 2182-G-01.1 CIO Approval: 5-22-2018

Transmittal No.: 18-006

submitted online to EPA will not be used for another purpose or shared with third
parties, unless required by law, nor will Pll be published on the EPA public access
websites. Parental consent is required for the collection or use of this information. You
may choose to refuse to provide your consent and if no consent is provided within a
reasonable time from the date of this notice, EPA will delete both the child and the
parent's online contact information from its files in accordance with the approved EPA
records retention schedule for transitory records. If permission is granted, the
identifying information will be deleted after completion of the activity in accordance
with the approved EPA records schedule. For additional information, a privacy and
security notice (https://www.epa.qov/privacv/privacv-and-securitv-notice') is published
on the EPA public access websites, including websites for children.

When EPA offices identify the work product of a child on the EPA public access
websites, only the first name, age, and home state/territory/country of the child will be
stated (e.g., Mike, age 7, Kentucky) unless the parent makes a hardcopy request to
have additional information posted.

Copyright

A. Sample Language for an artwork submission from children.

As part of an outreach effort to stimulate interest in the environment, EPA is
requesting interested children to submit materials, including artwork for display on
EPA's public access websites. EPA also requests the child's parent/guardian to
provide express permission for the Agency to post or publish the artwork on the EPA
Intranet and on websites EPA co-sponsors or co-owns in partnerships or in other EPA
publications, at EPA's discretion. EPA will not identify children online except by first
name, age, and home state/territory/country of the child (e.g., Mike, age 7, Kentucky)
unless the parent makes a hardcopy request to have additional information posted.

7. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Assistant Administrators, Regional Administrators, and all EPA employees and contractor
employees, including but not limited to staff involved in online outreach and or education
programs directed at children, as well as web managers, web developers and contractor
employees who develop and or manage EPA web pages are responsible for providing a
notice for parental consent when needed and developing a method for verifying that
parental consent.

8. RELATED INFORMATION

CIO 2180.1 Web Governance and Management Policy, 05/07/2013
(https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2013-11/documents/2180-1 .pdf)

CIO 2181.0 Posting Copyrighted Works on EPA Web Site Policy, 10/25/2007

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\/ClM POLICY

Children's Privacy Notice Guidance

Directive No.: CIO 2182-G-01.1

CIO Approval: 5-22-2018

Transmittal No.: 18-006

(https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2013-11/documents/2181p.pdf)

CIO 2151.1 Privacy Policy, 09/14/2015
(http://intranet.epa.gov/oei/imitpolicv/aic/ciopolicv/2151.1 .pdf)

EPA Privacy and Security Notice
(https://www.epa.gov/privacv/privacv-and-securitv-notice')

EPA website procedures, standards and guidance are provided on the EPA Web Guide
(https://www.epa.gov/webguide')

9. DEFINITIONS

Operator. Used in the definition of verifiable parental consent. Any person who operates a
website located on the Internet or an online service and who collects or maintains
personal information from or about the users of or visitors to such website or online
service, or on whose behalf such information is collected or maintained

Personally Identifiable Information (Pll). Any information about an individual maintained
by an agency, which can be used to distinguish, trace, or identify an individual's identity,
including personal information which is linked or linkable to an individual.

The amended 2013 COPPA Rule specifically includes as Pll the following: first and last
name, a home or other physical address, online contact information, a screen or
username that functions as online contact information, telephone number, social security
number, a persistent identifier that can be used to recognize a user overtime and across
different websites or online services, a photograph, video, or audio file that contains a
child's image or voice, geolocation information sufficient to identify street name and name
of a city or town, or information concerning the child or the parents of that child that the
operator collects online from the child and combines with another identifier.1

Verifiable Parental Consent. Taking into consideration available technology, any
reasonable effort to ensure that a parent of a child receives notice of the operator's
personal information collection, use, and disclosure practices, and authorizes the
collection, use, and disclosure, as applicable, of personal information and the subsequent
use of that information before that information is collected from that child. This may include
a request for authorization for future collection, use, and disclosure described in the
notice.

Offline Content: Any document created by a child under the age of 13 (such as drawings,
posters, etc.) and brought to the EPA's attention in physical form (e.g. at an event or

1 Complying with COPPA: Frequently Asked Questions, "What is Personal Information," is available online at
https://www.ftc. aovAiDS-advice/business-center/auidance/comDlvina-coDDa-freauentlv-asked-guestions

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Children's Privacy Notice Guidance

Directive No.: CIO 2182-G-01.1 CIO Approval: 5-22-2018

Transmittal No.: 18-006

submitted by mail) or any document created by EPA internally containing images of or
artwork by children under the age of 13 and potentially later shared by EPA online. For
example, EPA's Administrator attends a science fair to select winners of a contest
involving children's posters they created about an environmental issue. Pll about the
children are identifiable from the content of their posters. This is offline content that
becomes subject to this policy to the extent the Agency wishes to publish the posters
online.

10. WAIVERS

There are no waivers from this guidance.

11. MATERIAL SUPERSEDED

CIO 2182-G-01.0 Children's Privacy Notice to Parents and Other Persons Guidance,
10/25/2007

12. CONTACTS

For further information about this guidance, please contact the Web Content Services
Division, Office of Information Management, in the Office of Environmental Information.

Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Environmental Information
and Deputy Chief Information Officer
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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Q CPA INFORMATION DIRECTIVE

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Children's Privacy Notice Guidance

Directive No.: CIO 2182-G-01.1

CIO Approval: 5-22-2018

Transmittal No.: 18-006

APPENDIX A:
Acronyms & Abbreviations

COPPA	Children's Online Privacy Protection Act

EPA	Environmental Protection Agency

OMB	Office of Management and Budget

Pll	Personally Identifiable Information

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0 EDA information directive

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Children's Privacy Notice Guidance

Directive No.: CIO 2182-G-01.1

CIO Approval: 5-22-2018

Transmittal No.: 18-006

APPENDIX B:

Basic Parental Consent Template

COPPA requires website operators to make reasonable efforts to ensure that a parent of a
child receives direct notice of the operator's practices with regard to collection, use, or
disclosure. A verified parental consent form can be used to provide notice to parents and
obtain their consent. Appendix B to this Guidance provide a basic verified parental consent
template for use in paper or electronic form. It is not intended to encompass all possible types
of information collection and will need to be tailored to the specific EPA Program requesting
the information.

^ ^3 \ UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

A

\	°	WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460

*1 PRO"f

Dear Parent/Guardian,

We have received a request from you or your child to participate in [applicable EPA program].
Because this EPA program comes with features that require us to collect personal information
from your child, we are contacting you to get your consent for your child to have access.
Please read our complete privacy policy, [provide hyperlink to polity] which follows this form,
and if it is acceptable to you, please provide your consent by sigRftjf this form.

Completed forms should be returned to the United States Erl^Smental Protection Agency,
Office of [insert Program Office, Program POC name and number],

COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act)

Description: Websites must obtain Verifiable Pare1ra^)nsent before collecting information
from children or permitting them to disclose per^tR^information of children under 13 years.

1. I am the parent/legal guardian o^^	[print], I

have read the U.S. EPA privac^ieJty and consent to allow my child to participate and
access in the applicable El^/

Parent signature.

Date _

I have read tNfe^S. EPA privacy policy and consent to allow my child to disclose their
[insert apctaaras information - email address, name, etc.] to be used only by U.S. EPA
emplov^a OTrninistrating the program for communication purposes.

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Form Rev. 3/2/2017


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