A recent data breach on the PowerSchool platform has left many families, teachers, and school districts in the dark about the scope of the breach, which compromised personal information uploaded on the system. The breach affects thousands of schools across the US, including all Carolina public schools.
PowerSchool is a cloud-based platform that provides student information services to tens of thousands of schools nationwide. In North Carolina, nearly 1000 students’ social security numbers were exposed, while over 1000 teachers’ social security numbers were also compromised.
In South Carolina, York School District One reported some social security numbers were breached within their schools, and Fort Mill School District revealed eight former employees’ and two current or former student’s social security numbers were part of the breach. Lancaster County Schools confirmed that directory information such as names, phone numbers, and addresses were also affected.
Parents are concerned about the unknown compromised data, which they claim is what worries them. The South Carolina Department of Education has announced it will pressure PowerSchool to provide credit and identity monitoring services to those affected.
Lancaster County Schools Director Elizabeth Bryant emphasized that the district is assessing its programs to make improvements and assesses contact with other information technology directors in the state to prevent similar breaches. The main concern, she stated, is identifying impacted individuals so they can be notified.
Source: https://www.wbtv.com/2025/01/14/teacher-social-security-numbers-included-powerschool-data-breach-impacting-carolinas-us