District reports PowerSchool data breach is national; officials say some PII exposed but district believes student SSNs not affected locally

Public Schools of Robeson County staff informed the board Jan. 14 about a nationwide PowerSchool data breach disclosed to the district in mid‑January.

Why it matters: PowerSchool is a widely used student information system; breaches of student or staff personally identifiable information (PII) can prompt identity concerns, require notifications and lead to remediation steps for affected families.

Bob DeLocklear, speaking for district staff, said the breach occurred in late December and the district was notified roughly two weeks later. According to the information DeLocklear relayed, the breach involved access through a third‑party vendor, and PowerSchool reported that the data obtained by the intruder had been destroyed. DeLocklear said hackers had access to student and staff information and that PowerSchool is developing a hotline and call center for potentially affected individuals.

When asked by a board member whether Social Security numbers were exposed, DeLocklear said the statewide briefing reported 910 students with Social Security numbers affected across North Carolina. He said, “To the best of our knowledge, we do not have any Social Security numbers of students in our system.” DeLocklear added that other personal identifiable information such as addresses and phone numbers were part of what was compromised.

No formal action was required at the meeting. District staff placed a general FAQ for board members in the meeting packet and said they would share additional information as it becomes available.