Latest news with #InfiniteCampus
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
Hackers again demand ransom for schools' data
Stolen personal student and teacher information that was supposed to be destroyed after a ransom was paid is now being used to extort individual school districts. In December, a hacker gained access to personal data for students and teachers around the world in the database for the PowerSchool student information system. PowerSchool told users that the hacker destroyed the data, but now that same data is being used to get ransoms from individual school districts. Ransom demands have been sent to school districts across the U.S. and Canada, including at least 20 North Carolina school districts and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The hacker wants Bitcoin in exchange for destroying the data, according to Vanessa Wren, chief information officer for DPI. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction will not engage with those making the threats, State Superintendent Mo Green said at a news conference Wednesday. State officials did not release the names of the school districts that received the ransom demand in emails on Wednesday, but Green said they have been told not to engage with those making the threats. The data affected goes back to 2013, when all North Carolina public schools began using PowerSchool. PowerSchool is used to record information such as student attendance, grades and class schedules. In a decision made before the latest breach, all North Carolina public schools will switch to using a different system called Infinite Campus by July 1. 'It is certainly unacceptable that these families and public servants have had the data compromised again and going through what we just went through a few months ago,' Green said. 'It is completely unfortunate that the perpetrators are preying on innocent children and dedicated public servants.' Wrenn said PowerSchool believes the new threat is coming from the same hacker who stole the data but can't confirm that yet. Law enforcement in the U.S. and Canada are investigating. In a statement Wednesday, PowerSchool confirmed it had paid a ransom to the hacker in hopes of having the data destroyed. The company says the hacker did not honor the deal. 'PowerSchool is aware that a threat actor has reached out to multiple school district customers in an attempt to extort them using data from the previously reported December 2024 incident,' PowerSchool said in its statement. 'We do not believe this is a new incident, as samples of data match the data previously stolen in December.' PowerSchool has provided free credit monitoring to people affected by the data breach. It urged people concerned about the data breach to go to to take advantage of the credit monitoring services. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio school district reverts to birth names, catching students, parents off guard
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Students at Columbus City Schools with preferred names in the district's system have had their names reverted back to the one listed on their birth certificates, including transgender and nonbinary students, who were not notified that this was happening. Students and teachers were caught off guard on March 19 when attendance was called and they realized preferred names were changed in the district's system, which is called Infinite Campus. 'He found out about the rescinded name change policy at school,' said a parent with a transgender son. 'His fourth-period teacher advised him to go to the office because his preferred name was not listed in Infinite Campus. My son started to go to the office and in a panic ran to the bathroom to call me at work.' 'This should be a welcoming state:' DeWine denies claim of 'anti-LGBTQ+ climate' in Ohio Izetta Thomas, the lead organizer with the Columbus Education Justice Coalition, said she has been talking to parents and students since the day of the change. 'To have that happen on such a grand scale and to not even see it coming, I don't think that there are any words to describe the feelings that folks had when that happened,' she said. Thomas added, 'Those names that were in the system were actually there with parent consent and permission because there was a form that parents had to fill out for that change to even be in the system at all.' She also said she feels uncomfortable sending her son back to class. 'My son has not physically been back to school since March 19,' the parent said. 'For his safety, we unenrolled from his previous school. Now, his educational opportunities have been taken from him.' There's a new push to put whole milk back in school meals. Here's what you should know Columbus Schools Superintendent Angela Chapman sent out a letter to students, parents and staff on Friday acknowledging that no warning was given. In the letter, Chapman said in part, 'We did not provide prior notice this was occurring, nor did we ensure support was in place to prioritize the emotional well-being of everyone impacted.' Chapman also apologized for how the district handled this situation. The letter cited recent Ohio laws — including a school bathroom bill and the Parents' Bill of Rights — as reasons for the change, but Thomas said that none of those laws require school districts to revert trans students' names. 'A lot of the information that we've been getting from folks at the district is that it was anticipatory,' Thomas said. 'An apology is not enough. An apology is not accountability, and that's what we're looking for, is accountability.' Ohio 'Given Name Act' proposes strict rules for names, pronouns in schools The parent did say Chapman called them personally to apologize, but they said she offered little in the way of a solution. Thomas said a number of people from the Columbus Education Justice Coalition planned to be at the next Columbus Board of Education meeting to show their support for impacted students and families. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
01-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Ohio school district reverts to birth names, catching students, parents off guard
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Students at Columbus City Schools with preferred names in the district's system have had their names reverted back to the one listed on their birth certificates, including transgender and nonbinary students, who were not notified that this was happening. Students and teachers were caught off guard on March 19 when attendance was called and they realized preferred names were changed in the district's system, which is called Infinite Campus. 'He found out about the rescinded name change policy at school,' said a parent with a transgender son. 'His fourth-period teacher advised him to go to the office because his preferred name was not listed in Infinite Campus. My son started to go to the office and in a panic ran to the bathroom to call me at work.' 'This should be a welcoming state:' DeWine denies claim of 'anti-LGBTQ+ climate' in Ohio Izetta Thomas, the lead organizer with the Columbus Education Justice Coalition, said she has been talking to parents and students since the day of the change. 'To have that happen on such a grand scale and to not even see it coming, I don't think that there are any words to describe the feelings that folks had when that happened,' she said. Thomas added, 'Those names that were in the system were actually there with parent consent and permission because there was a form that parents had to fill out for that change to even be in the system at all.' She also said she feels uncomfortable sending her son back to class. 'My son has not physically been back to school since March 19,' the parent said. 'For his safety, we unenrolled from his previous school. Now, his educational opportunities have been taken from him.' There's a new push to put whole milk back in school meals. Here's what you should know Columbus Schools Superintendent Angela Chapman sent out a letter to students, parents and staff on Friday acknowledging that no warning was given. In the letter, Chapman said in part, 'We did not provide prior notice this was occurring, nor did we ensure support was in place to prioritize the emotional well-being of everyone impacted.' Chapman also apologized for how the district handled this situation. The letter cited recent Ohio laws — including a school bathroom bill and the Parents' Bill of Rights — as reasons for the change, but Thomas said that none of those laws require school districts to revert trans students' names. 'A lot of the information that we've been getting from folks at the district is that it was anticipatory,' Thomas said. 'An apology is not enough. An apology is not accountability, and that's what we're looking for, is accountability.' The parent did say Chapman called them personally to apologize, but they said she offered little in the way of a solution. Thomas said a number of people from the Columbus Education Justice Coalition planned to be at the next Columbus Board of Education meeting to show their support for impacted students and families.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio school district reverts to birth names, catching students, teachers off guard
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Students at Columbus City Schools with preferred names in the district's system had their names reverted back to match their birth certificates. This mainly affected transgender and nonbinary students, who were not notified that this was happening. Students and teachers were caught off guard on March 19 when attendance was called and they realized preferred names were changed in the district's system, called Infinite Campus. 'He found out about the rescinded name change policy at school,' said a parent with a transgender son. 'His fourth-period teacher advised him to go to the office because his preferred name was not listed in Infinite Campus. My son started to go to the office and in a panic ran to the bathroom to call me at work.' 'This should be a welcoming state:' DeWine denies claim of 'anti-LGBTQ+ climate' in Ohio Izetta Thomas, the lead organizer with the Columbus Education Justice Coalition, said she has been talking to parents and students since the day of the change. 'To have that happen on such a grand scale and to not even see it coming, I don't think that there are any words to describe the feelings that folks had when that happened,' she said. Thomas added, 'Those names that were in the system were actually there with parent consent and permission because there was a form that parents had to fill out for that change to even be in the system at all.' She also said she feels uncomfortable sending her son back to class. 'My son has not physically been back to school since March 19,' the parent said. 'For his safety, we unenrolled from his previous school. Now, his educational opportunities have been taken from him.' There's a new push to put whole milk back in school meals. Here's what you should know Columbus Schools Superintendent Dr. Angela Chapman sent out a letter to students, parents and staff on Friday acknowledging that no warning was given. In the letter, Chapman said in part, 'We did not provide prior notice this was occurring, nor did we ensure support was in place to prioritize the emotional well-being of everyone impacted.' Chapman also apologized for how the district handled this situation. The letter cited recent Ohio laws such as the bathroom bill and the Parents' Bill of Rights as reasons why the names were changed, but Thomas said that none of these laws require school districts to revert trans students' names. 'A lot of the information that we've been getting from folks at the district is that it was anticipatory,' Thomas said. 'An apology is not enough. An apology is not accountability, and that's what we're looking for, is accountability.' Ohio 'Given Name Act' proposes strict rules for names, pronouns in schools The parent did say Chapman called them personally to apologize, but they said she offered little in the way of a solution. Thomas said a number of people from the Columbus Education Justice Coalition planned to be at the next Columbus Board of Education meeting to show their support for impacted students and families. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Columbus City Schools reverting to birth names catches students, teachers off guard
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Columbus City Schools students with preferred names in the district system had their names reverted back to what is on their birth certificate. This mainly affected transgender and nonbinary students, and they were not notified that this was happening. Students and teachers were caught off guard on March 19 when attendance was called and they realized preferred names were changed in the district's system, called Infinite Campus. 'This should be a welcoming state:' DeWine denies claim of 'anti-LGBTQ+ climate' in Ohio 'He found out about the rescinded name change policy at school,' one parent with a transgender son said. 'His fourth-period teacher advised him to go to the office because his preferred name was not listed in Infinite Campus. My son started to go to the office and in a panic ran to the bathroom to call me at work.' 'To have that happen on such a grand scale and to not even see it coming, I don't think that there are any words to describe the feelings that folks had when that happened,' said Izetta Thomas, the lead organizer with the Columbus Education Justice Coalition. Thomas said she has been talking to parents and students since the day of the change. 'Those names that were in the system were actually there with parent consent and permission, because there was a form that parents had to fill out for that change to even be in the system at all,' Thomas said. The parent said the past few weeks since the name changes have been long and difficult for their son and their family. 60-ton crane stolen from south Columbus construction site 'My son has not physically been back to school since March 19,' the parent said. 'For his safety, we unenrolled from his previous school. Now, his educational opportunities have been taken from him.' Columbus Schools Superintendent Dr. Angela Chapman sent out a letter to students, parents and staff on Friday acknowledging that no warning was given. In the letter, Chapman said in part, 'We did not provide prior notice this was occurring, nor did we ensure support was in place to prioritize the emotional well-being of everyone impacted.' Chapman also apologized for how the district handled this situation. The letter cited recent Ohio laws like the bathroom bill and the Parents' Bill of Rights as reason why the names were changed, but Thomas said that none of these laws require school districts to revert trans students' names. Ohio 'Given Name Act' proposes strict rules for names, pronouns in schools 'A lot of the information that we've been getting from folks at the district is that it was anticipatory,' Thomas said. 'An apology is not enough. An apology is not accountability, and that's what we're looking for, is accountability.' The parent did say Chapman called them personally to apologize, but they said she offered little in solutions. Thomas said a number of people from the Columbus Education Justice Coalition will be at the next Columbus Board of Education meeting to show their support for impacted students and families. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
