Data Breach Over 880,000 Texas School-Aged Children and Teachers

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton

AUSTIN, TEXAS (News Release) – Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit against PowerSchool, a California-based provider of cloud-based services for K-12 schools, after an unprecedented data breach exposed the sensitive personal identifying information and protected health information of more than 880,000 Texas school-aged children and teachers.

PowerSchool’s software collects, processes, and secures sensitive information that Texas schools require from parents enrolling their children and from their employees. PowerSchool markets itself as an all-in-one platform for managing student information, enrollment, and other school operations, and promotes its software as meeting “the highest security standards” and offering “state-of-the-art protections” for student and employee data. Contrary to these claims, the company failed to implement even the most basic security features, including multi-factor authentication, adequate access controls, and proper data encryption.

As a result, in December 2024, a hacker used a subcontractor’s account to gain administrative access and transferred large amounts of unencrypted data to a foreign server. The stolen information included names, addresses, Social Security numbers, medical details, disability records, special education data, and bus stops—which can be used to physically locate Texas children. PowerSchool’s failures violate both the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Identity Theft Enforcement and Protection Act by misleading customers about its security practices and failing to take reasonable measures to protect sensitive information entrusted by Texas families and school districts.

“If Big Tech thinks they can profit off managing children’s data while cutting corners on security, they are dead wrong,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Parents should never have to worry that the information they provide to enroll their children in school could be stolen and misused. My office will do everything we can to hold PowerSchool accountable for putting Texas students, teachers, and families at risk.”

To read the lawsuit, click here.