Outschool is committed to being the safest and most trusted online learning platform.

To that end, we are now requiring that teachers go through our Teacher Identity Verification process for a few reasons. Teacher Identity Verification keeps our community safe, by allowing us to confirm the identity of the teacher. Our prior verification method was solely a Background Check, which does not ensure the level of security that is necessary to protect our learners. Unfortunately, Identity Fraud is a growing problem during the pandemic, and Teacher Identity Verification helps mitigate the exposure of that risk to the Outschool community.

We use a service called Berbix to perform identity verification. Berbix is a secure, industry-standard service for identity verification. You can learn more about their information security practices here.

Clicking on the "Verify" button in your teacher account settings will take you to Berbix's website. Berbix will initiate a verification process with 3 steps:

Once you complete the verification through Berbix, you will be brought back to Outschool's website.

Completing the Teacher Identity Verification process should take no more than 3-5 minutes.

By when do I need to complete this?

We will be sending you an email to ask you to complete your Teacher Identity Verification process, and we ask that all teachers complete their Teacher Identity Verification within 7 days of the invite. You are welcome to complete it now.

Teacher Identity Verification will be a one-time process. Background checks are annual because an individual's record could change over the course of a year - but their identity would not.

We do not use this information for anything other than verifying your identity. The information you provide is encrypted and stored securely on Berbix's servers, which are SOC 2 Type II certified.

How does Berbix handle bias in facial recognition technology?

Berbix has built their technology to be mindful of human & societal biases in machine learning data sets. Their technology is focused on comparing a selfie and ID for a single user (in other words, comparing a user's face to their own), rather than facial comparison across users, the latter of which is where facial recognition software has historically shown bias.

How is this different from the Background Check?

Where a background check validates that there are no offenses on an individual's record that might risk the trust and safety of the Outschool community, Teacher Identity Verification ensures that a given teacher is indeed the individual on whom we ran the background check.

To ensure you complete the process with minimal issues, please take clear photos that have an appropriate level of lighting. This will make sure that the information on your ID is legible and your photo is distinguishable. If you are having trouble completing your Teacher Identity Verification, you may consider the following suggestions:

See this video from our team for more tips:

Alternatively, you may upload your photos rather than using a phone to take them. To do this, please first select the "I don't have a phone" button. It will then ask you the ID type and prompt you to "choose a photo."

For additional assistance, you can contact Outschool support using the Help button at the top of Outschool.com.