Ask any K-12 district technology professional about their app vetting process, and you’ll likely be hit with an exasperated sigh, followed by frustrated grumblings like, “What process?” or “Oh, you mean the process that nobody follows?”
There are many challenges around app vetting, but the two I hear most often are:
- Setting up the process—Deciding who to involve and what to look for in your evaluation.
- Ensuring adoption—Making sure teachers and staff know about, understand, and follow the process.
If left unchecked, these challenges have serious implications for student data security, budgets, classroom learning, and parental trust. With districts using an average of 2,700+ digital tools every year–a number that continues to grow–the need for a streamlined app vetting process is more urgent than ever.
How to Get App Vetting Off the Ground
So, how do you get started? I frequently talk with K-12 technology leaders about the issues around app vetting and here are steps they consistently say are key to setting up, (and getting people to follow) a proper process:
Get Buy In (Not Easy, But Necessary)
Step one is getting your school system leaders to understand the importance of app vetting. Start by clearly outlining the risks of not having a process and the benefits of establishing one.
Risks of Not Having an App Vetting Process
- Apps that don’t meet curriculum needs
- No way to track app requests against available budget dollars
- No clear guidelines to fall back on when declining an app request
- Risks to student and staff data due to using non-compliant apps
- Interoperability issues
- Failure to meet district, state, or federal cybersecurity requirements
Benefits of an App Vetting Process
- Apps that align with curriculum goals
- Checks and balances for cybersecurity and data security
- Clear guidelines for declining app requests
- Clear expectations for purchasing and using apps
- Interoperability is verified, so your new and existing apps work together
Many schools create a committee that includes representatives from curriculum, data security, budget owners, and even parents. In a recent article, Libbi Nelson, CITE’s director of resource and service programs, shared a great 10-step rubric for creating an app-vetting team.
Make Your Purchasing Team Part of the Process
Ensure your purchasing department verifies that software purchases have received approval before processing purchase orders. This helps catch unapproved purchases, whether due to oversight or an attempt to bypass the process.
Require Vendors to Sign Data Privacy Agreements
Many schools now adopt a “no signed data-privacy agreement, no purchase” policy. The risks of unvetted apps are too high. Without a signed agreement the implications to your district, as well as students and staff, are costly in terms of money and privacy.
Make Your Process Known, Transparent, and Easy to Track
Once you’ve established your app vetting process, make it widely known and easy to follow. Transparency is key to ensuring adoption.
Luckily, ClassLink has a new AppTrack tool (available Summer 2025) that can help with this step (and many others).
ClassLink AppTrack
AppTrack lives inside the ClassLink LaunchPad (which is where students and staff go to access all their apps anyway).
With AppTrack, you set up the approval steps and assign tasks that align with your app vetting process. Teachers and staff request apps (through one easy-to-find place): ClassLink Launchpad. Once a request is added, everyone can see if and when the app is approved. Every step is visible and trackable, so all your decisions are informed, secure, and accountable.
At just $0.25 per user, per year it’s an affordable way to set up an accessible, transparent, and easy to follow app vetting process.
Buddy Denman, Technology Director at Splendora ISD, recently learned about AppTrack and had this to say; “We’ve been sitting down for the last three or four months trying to come up with the best app approval process, and then AppTrack was announced this morning! It’s just awesome and more than we could have really hoped for, so I’m super excited for that.”
Final Thoughts
App vetting isn’t just nice to have—it’s a must-have. With the right process, districts can improve cybersecurity, ensure budget efficiency, and enhance learning outcomes. Whether you’re just starting or refining your approach, the key is to make app vetting structured, transparent, and enforceable.