Cybersecurity hack targets software used by St. Charles Parish Public Schools

St. Charles Parish Public Schools announced Jan. 8 that student and employee data was accessed during a cybersecurity incident at PowerSchool, a software company that provides cloud-based products that simplify school operations.

PowerSchool told the school system that any breach data is now secure, according to a statement from St. Charles Parish Public Schools.

The specific product impacted by the breach was PowerSchool’s Student Information System, according to Regina McMillan, a spokesperson for the school system. This system houses student and staff data that is required to be reported to the Louisiana Department of Education, including grades, attendance, student registration and class scheduling.

The hack may have affected any student or employee within St. Charles Parish Public Schools from 2009-2024, and the accessed data may include demographic information such as names, addresses, and phone numbers for students, staff, and guardians. In some cases, health information, grades, and social security numbers may also have been involved, according to the statement put out by St. Charles Parish Public Schools.

McMillan said that PowerSchool has created a FAQ site in relation to the breach, which can be accessed through its website powerschool.com

“PowerSchool has shared that all appropriate steps have been taken to prevent the data involved from further unauthorized access or misuse and that they do not anticipate the data being shared or made public,” McMillan said. “They believe the data has been deleted without any further replication or dissemination.”

Louisiana law requires that any individuals targeted in a data breach must be notified no later than 60 days after the breach is discovered, McMillan said.

“At this time, we have not been provided with a specific date for notifications,” she said. “PowerSchool plans to notify individuals once their investigation is complete, and we will share any additional updates as we receive them.”