Security must take precedence over centralized control

On Dec. 28, PowerSchool, the company paid with our tax dollars to store sensitive information for public schools, experienced a massive data breach.

To understand the scope of the breach, about 50 million students are nationally enrolled in public school today. Over 62 million students — including every child enrolled in LPOSD — had their names, locations, family members, phone numbers, and physical descriptors like ethnicity and gender stolen by hackers. Shockingly, LPOSD was unaware of the breach until I personally inquired Jan. 10, weeks after it occurred. Only then did the district notify parents.

The stolen data is a treasure trove for criminals and can be weaponized in ways that could harm families. Worse yet, the lack of transparency and urgency from both PowerSchool and LPOSD raises serious questions about their ability — or willingness — to safeguard our children’s information. Parents should not be forced to entrust their children’s sensitive data to a company that has demonstrated its inability to keep it secure.

By requiring families to hand information over without any option to opt out, LPOSD violates our fundamental right to privacy and exposes our children to significant risk. We must hold both PowerSchool and LPOSD accountable. Parents deserve the right to choose how and with whom their data and children's data is shared. When it comes to our children, our district must prioritize security over convenience and centralized control.

BRIANNA BURKETT

Newport, Wash.