JEROME, Idaho — A data breach in early January affected PowerSchool systems, impacting several school districts in Southern Idaho, including Twin Falls, Jerome, and Kimberly.
PowerSchool, the largest school data system in the US, notified several Idaho schools about the breach, which involved the exposure of student information such as addresses and phone numbers.
"This affected a lot of school districts in our area," Jerome Superintendent Brent Johnson told Idaho News 6. "We have to be very vigilant and confidential with all of our information, something we pride ourselves on here at the Jerome school district."
"Student information systems don’t include any financial information or anything like that," said Eva Craner, Public Relations Director for Twin Falls School district. "It is protected information, so things like addresses, phone numbers, all of the things that schools need to operate. Those are included in student information systems but nothing that’s financially related."
Luke Schroeder, Superintendent of Kimberly School District said that while financial information isn't stored in these systems, the exposure of personal information like addresses and phone numbers is still concerning.
"If someone was able to get (personal details of) a child in kindergarten and take their identity, they may not know this until they’re an adult," Schrooeder said.
The breach highlights the ongoing challenges of maintaining data security in schools, with administrators stressing the need for vigilance in protecting student information.
PowerSchool has pledged to work with clients whose information was compromised, and said they will be reaching out to families directly to offer credit monitoring and identity protection.
