Dear Parents, Guardians, and School System Employees,
On Tuesday, January 7, 2025, PowerSchool alerted North Carolina public schools and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) to a cybersecurity incident affecting student and teacher data across its global client base. This incident was not limited to North Carolina.
PowerSchool, a student information system (SIS) used in North Carolina since 2013, previously managed Polk County Schools’ data. For the 2024-2025 school year, Polk County Schools transitioned to Infinite Campus as its SIS; however, historical data for many students and staff remains with PowerSchool.
The cybersecurity incident began on Thursday, December 19, 2024, and was discovered by PowerSchool on Saturday, December 28, 2024. PowerSchool has confirmed that the breach has been contained, the compromised data was not shared, and any unauthorized access has been eliminated. The company is cooperating with law enforcement and monitoring the dark web to ensure no data is exposed. PowerSchool has also reported that its operations remain unaffected and services are continuing without disruption.
Polk County Schools will collaborate with NCDPI and PowerSchool to ensure that all required notifications are completed promptly. It is important to emphasize that neither Polk County Schools nor NCDPI could have prevented this incident.
In the coming days, impacted individuals will be notified directly. PowerSchool has engaged Experian, a trusted credit reporting agency, to provide complimentary identity protection and credit monitoring services:
- Identity Protection: All students and educators whose information was involved will receive two years of complimentary identity protection services.
- Credit Monitoring: All adult students and educators whose information was involved will also receive two years of complimentary credit monitoring services.
PowerSchool has set up a dedicated site to update and inform the public regarding this incident: https://www.powerschool.com/security/sis-incident/
Protecting the personal information of students and staff is a top priority. We take this matter very seriously and are committed to supporting those affected. NCDPI is actively advocating for our students and staff as we work with PowerSchool to navigate this situation.
