Updated Jan. 17, 2025
Recently, PowerSchool announced that it had a data breach that affected some of its clients last month. PowerSchool is a cloud-based software platform, used by more than 15,000 schools and districts nationwide, for sharing lessons and school information between students, parents and teachers.
According to PowerSchool, the cybersecurity incident involved unauthorized access to parent, student and teacher information through one of its community-focused customer support portals. PowerSchool has stated that the incident has been contained.
The information that was exposed was primarily contact information, such as names and addresses. Additional personally identifiable information may have been exposed for some schools and districts, but Valley Catholic does not provide information such as Social Security numbers or credit card and bank information with PowerSchool.
PowerSchool has set up a webpage about the incident that includes frequently asked questions and more details about the security breach.
PowerSchool provided the following update on Jan. 17:
PowerSchool has engaged Experian a trusted credit reporting agency, to offer the following services to all students and educators whose information was exposed by the breach.
- Identity Protection: PowerSchool will be offering two years of complimentary identity protection services for all students and educators whose information was involved.
- Credit Monitoring: PowerSchool will also be offering two years of complimentary credit monitoring services for all adult students and educators whose information was involved.
PowerSchool will coordinate with Experian to provide notice to students, parents / guardians and educators, as applicable, whose information was involved. They are also setting up a call center to answer questions from the community. The notice will include information about the identity protection and credit monitoring services offer.
We encourage you to review the PowerSchool resources and to review the helpful articles below from Experian and the IRS about steps to protect you and your family after a data breach.
Experian – Here’s what you should do after a data breach
IRS.gov – Data breach information
We are sorry that this incident occurred with a third-party vendor that so many schools and school districts rely on. The Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon Ministries Corp. and Valley Catholic School value you and your children. Your privacy is important to us. Please review the resources we have provided and contact us if you have additional questions.
Thank you for trusting us with the education of your children.
