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Los Alamos Schools notified of possible PowerSchool data export; district awaiting formal impact report
Summary
Superintendent told the school board Jan. 14 the district was notified Jan. 8 of a global PowerSchool incident and is investigating two exported files that may contain directory information; the district has engaged its insurer and outside counsel and has not yet received formal confirmation that student or staff data were released.
Superintendent Guy told the Los Alamos Public Schools Board of Education on Jan. 14 that the district was notified on Jan. 8 it may have been affected by a global data incident at PowerSchool, the district’s cloud-hosted student information system.
“We were notified on January 8th that we may potentially have been involved in a data breach through the company PowerSchool,” Superintendent Guy said. She said district staff have not yet received the formal notification from PowerSchool identifying specific records that were exported.
Why it matters: PowerSchool is the district’s student information system; if directory or other records were exported, families and staff could need to take protective steps. The district is treating the incident as potentially material and has taken several steps while it awaits a definitive list from PowerSchool.
What the district has done so far, according to Guy: notified its insurer (Palms and Associates), which referred the claim to Beasley (a cyber specialist); engaged third‑party legal counsel; and had the district PowerSchool manager, Miss Schmidt, in daily contact with PowerSchool. The superintendent said PowerSchool has provided an incident website and that the district has shared that link with families and staff.
Guy said the district’s initial review has identified two files that may have been exported and that those files appear to contain directory information. She said the district does not store student medical records or staff Social Security numbers in PowerSchool and therefore does not believe those categories were exposed through PowerSchool for the district, although she emphasized the district has not yet received PowerSchool’s formal confirmation.
The superintendent recommended families monitor credit reports and watch for PowerSchool’s follow‑up notifications. She said the incident was detected in late December and that the district’s notification timeline—Jan. 8—was later than she would prefer.
No formal action was taken by the board; the superintendent said the district will continue to share updates as PowerSchool provides more information.
