Attorney General Paxton Sues Big Tech Company Over Massive Data Breach Affecting Texas Schoolchildren and Teachers

Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against PowerSchool, a California-based provider of cloud-based services for K-12 schools, following a catastrophic data breach that compromised the personal information of over 880,000 Texas school-aged children and teachers. The breach exposed sensitive personal identifying information and protected health data, prompting swift legal action.

PowerSchool’s software is designed to collect, process, and secure sensitive information required by Texas schools from parents enrolling their children and from employees. Marketed as an all-in-one platform for managing student information, enrollment, and other school operations, the company has promoted its software as meeting the “highest security standards” and offering “state-of-the-art protections” for student and employee data. However, the lawsuit alleges that PowerSchool failed to implement even the most basic security measures, including multi-factor authentication, adequate access controls, and proper data encryption.

The unprecedented breach has raised significant concerns about the safety of student and teacher data. Attorney General Paxton emphasized that the sensitive nature of the information collected requires robust security protocols to protect Texas school-aged children and educators. The lawsuit seeks to hold PowerSchool accountable for its negligence and to ensure that such incidents do not recur.