Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Data Privacy Lawsuit topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Holliston IT recommends joining mass-action litigation over PowerSchool breach; vote may come before town meeting
Summary
Holliston's technology director updated the committee on the statewide PowerSchool data breach, described a mass-action legal option coordinated through the Tech Cooperative and recommended the committee consider signing onto France Law (F3) to represent the district in a mass-action suit; committee discussed scheduling a vote for mid-May.
Holliston's technology director briefed the school committee on May 1 about the December 2024 PowerSchool data breach and a coordinated legal response being offered to districts through the Tech Cooperative.
Dan McLeod (district technology lead) summarized the timeline: PowerSchool notified districts Jan. 8 of a breach that occurred Dec. 20; the privacy alliance sent demand letters in January and February and legal counsel arranged webinars in March. The Tech Cooperative has been coordinating districts and the law firm France Law (referred to as F3) is offering to handle a mass-action approach in which each district files its own suit under a coordinated strategy.
McLeod said the plaintiffs' requests include financial compensation for undelivered security services, breach-related costs (such as staff time for notifications), and, potentially, a funded platform-transition plan if a district chooses to move away from PowerSchool. He said joining would require roughly five to eight hours of district staff time to prepare, that France Law works on contingency (fee taken from any settlement), and that Holliston would face no up-front legal cost.
Committee members asked whether other districts had already signed on and discussed timing; McLeod said the Tech Cooperative planned to vote and that member districts would likely be asked to decide before the end of the school year. One committee member indicated a preference to review France Law and to collect additional information about which districts had already joined; another asked the administration to place a decision on the agenda for the May 15 meeting. McLeod noted the cooperative suggested an end-of-year deadline for signing onto the settlement process.
Ending: The committee did not vote on May 1. Staff said they will collect additional information about other districts' decisions and would place a vote to authorize joining the mass-action effort (if desired) on an upcoming agenda, suggesting May 15 as a target.
