Notification of PowerSchool Student Information Systems Data Breach
We are writing to make you aware of a recent cybersecurity incident involving PowerSchool, a software vendor which provides our Student Information System (SIS). On Tuesday, 07JAN25, Nome Public Schools (NPS) was notified by PowerSchool that an unauthorized party gained access to PowerSchool Student Information System (SIS) and certain customer data on a global scale. Unfortunately, they have confirmed that the accessed information belongs to some of NPS past and present staff, students, and families. PowerSchool informed us that the accessed data primarily includes staff, student, and family contact information with data elements such as name and address information. Across their customer base, they have determined that for a portion of individuals, some personally identifiable information (PII), such as social security numbers (SSN) and medical information, was also impacted. They are working with urgency to complete their investigation and determine whether PII belonging to our staff, students and families was included.
Protecting our staff, students, and families is something we take very seriously. In response to this data breach, the NPS Technology Director has identified all staff and student records within our system that contain PII (SSNs and / or medical information) to assist PowerSchool in providing the required services if needed. District leadership was immediately informed of the issue and we have notified our cyber insurance and the District's legal representative of this instance as well. With PowerSchool’s help, more information and resources (including credit monitoring or identity protection services if applicable) will be provided to you as it becomes available. PowerSchool has provided this public statement and community-facing FAQs link to provide more details.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.