Education Week - April 6, 2022 - 2

Vendor Breach Gives
Hackers Information
On N.Y.C. Students
New York City's school system is the largest in the
country. Now, it has another supersized distinction.
The district is the victim of the biggest cyberattack
on a single school system in U.S. history. Hackers successfully
targeted a vendor the district contracts with,
jeopardizing personal information for some 820,000
current and former students.
Doug Levin, the national director of the K12 Security
Information Exchange said the attack, which occurred
in January, is one of the clearest illustrations
yet of how important it is for districts to carefully vet
the security practices of the vendors they work with.
The breach of Illuminate Education, whose software
helped the nation's largest district track grades
and attendance, means hackers now have access to
such personal information as students' names, birth
dates, and special education and free-lunch statuses,
the New York Post reported.
The district has accused the vendor of misrepresenting
its security measures.
" We are outraged that Illuminate represented to us
and schools that legally required, industry- standard
critical safeguards were in place when they were not, "
schools Chancellor David Banks said.
Illuminate is in the process of notifying individuals
whose data may have been affected, the company said
in a statement. The company added that " there is no
evidence of any fraudulent or illegal activity related
to this incident. ... We have already taken important
steps to help prevent this from happening again. "
" Since they have not been forthcoming about what
actually happened, it's hard to know if they had a reasonable
security program in place or not, " Levin said.
" Just having an incident, in and of itself, should not
necessarily mean that a company was negligent or acting
in a reckless manner. Having said that, the lack of
transparency here is concerning. "
The breach comes as school districts across the
country-and the companies that serve them-are increasingly
hit by sophisticated cybercriminals, many
of whom operate overseas in countries that are tough
for U.S. law enforcement to reach.
" School districts in general, and this is not just a critique
of New York, have not been evaluating their vendors
based on vendor security practice, " said Levin,
noting districts need to ensure vendors have " reasonable
security practices in place. "
Proposed Legislation Would Excuse School Employees
In Tennessee From Using Students' Preferred Pronouns
In Tennessee, lawmakers have forbidden teachers to talk about
plenty of racial concepts, but they nonetheless seem bound and
determined to protect what teachers say-or don't say-when it
comes to how they address transgender and nonbinary students.
A bill moving through the legislature would allow teachers and
other public school employees to avoid referring to students by
their preferred pronoun if it doesn't match the student's biological
sex. Moreover, the measure would shield those employees
from civil liability or discipline.
At least in part, the sponsors are basing their case on freedom
of speech.
" Freedom of speech and religious exercise includes the freedom
not to speak messages against our core beliefs, " said state
Rep. Mark Cochran, a Republican. " We are not promoting bullying,
but we are protecting against coerced speech, and that is
protected under the Constitution. "
Students and teachers both have the same freedom to express
their views, he said.
The Hamilton County school district, for one, does not have a
policy requiring employees to address students by their chosen
name or pronouns, but students can request that they be called by
a preferred name and pronouns, said spokesman Steve Doremus.
All legal documentation, such as report cards, diplomas, and
other official school documents, reflect the birth certificate
name, he said.
Some educators aren't on board with what the proposed legislation
is trying to do.
Jeff Mullins, a teacher at East Hamilton School, said he thinks
the measure is cruel and goes against what he feels should be
the first tenet of teachers: Love and respect all kids. " We have a
duty and obligation, at least in a public school setting, to make
sure every single child is welcome to walk through the door, and
I feel that honoring a child's name and honoring their pronoun
is such a simple act of kindness and respect that can make them
feel welcome. "
According to a legislative committee memo, the bill could violate
Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, which, in
turn, could jeopardize federal funding.
Spreading
the Light
Senior Lucas Hall hugs
Maria DePaola, special
education coordinator,
while they bundle
GLOW packs with the
Best Buddies chapter
at Lyman Hall High
School in Wallingford,
Conn. The chapter,
part of an organization
that helps create
opportunities for
people with disabilities,
is hosting a fundraiser
with the luminary bags
to spread the message
of inclusion,
acceptance, and
equality. GLOW stands
for Gather Light
on Wallingford.
Republican Leader Hopes New Redistricting Map
Moves Kansas School Board to the Political Right
At least Republicans in Kansas aren't trying to disguise what
they want to accomplish by redrawing the state school board
district map.
The state senate's top leader acknowledges that he wants to
move the 10-member elected board's stance on curricula to the
right and give conservatives more say over what's taught in public
school classrooms.
To help that process along, the senate recently approved a bill
that was sent to the house, where lawmakers were expected to
give final approval to new board district lines before the GOPcontrolled
legislature was to begin its annual spring break.
Traditionally, redrawing state board districts has been an afterthought
for lawmakers. But these aren't ordinary times.
Conservative lawmakers are frustrated that the board hasn't
moved on its own to limit what can be taught about race and the
role of racism in U.S. history or to make it easier to remove materials
from classrooms and libraries.
Republicans hold a 6-4 majority on the board, but it has become
far less conservative than the legislature.
Senate President Ty Masterson, a conservative Republican
and the redistricting plan's architect, said he's hoping for " more
vibrant conversation " among board members about education
BRIEFLY STATED CONTRIBUTORS: Associated Press, Alyson Klein, and Tribune News Service. Edited by Karen Diegmueller.
2 | EDUCATION WEEK | April 6, 2022 | www.edweek.org
policy " instead of one monolithic vision. "
" It would be good if there were more conservatives on the
board, " he said. " You have these offices that need more attention
because we need more discussion on that, so the result is the
state board of education doesn't reflect Kansas. "
Added state Rep. Kristey Williams, another conservative
Republican and the chairwoman of a committee on education
spending, " [The board's] responses to parents' concerns have
not been as robust as I would probably have hoped. " As she also
noted, " Kansans are generally to the right of many of our board
members. "
Board members drew their own map, one more likely to preserve
the political status quo. That proposal avoided putting two
incumbents in any district.
Board member Ann Mah, a Democrat, said the board's plan
would ensure that it continues to " stand up " to the legislature.
Dave Zajac/Record-Journal via AP

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Education Week - April 6, 2022

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