POWERSCHOOL INCIDENT FAQs

What happened?

On December 28, 2024, PowerSchool, a third-party service provider used by Lakehead Public Schools, became aware of a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to certain PowerSchool Student Information System (SIS) information.

On January 7, 2025, PowerSchool notified us of the incident and that personal information of our students and educators may have been impacted.

Who was affected?

Many public boards and private schools across North America who use PowerSchool SIS were affected by this incident.

What data was compromised?

We have worked with PowerSchool to determine that the following Board information was affected:

Student information:

• Name, Gender, Date of Birth, Ontario Education Number, Student Number, Home and/or Mailing Address; most recent school enrolled, most recent homeroom class name, enrollment arrival and departure dates, and expected graduation dates; guardian and emergency contact names and phone numbers, doctor’s name and phone number.

For some students the following additional information was also affected:

• Medical alert notes, guardianship notes related to custodial arrangements, notes regarding reasons for transferring between schools.

This incident did not result in the compromise of any of the following information:

• Financial information, health assessment information, medical records, student academic grades, IEPs, or accommodations.

Educator and administrative staff information:

• Name, staff number, main school location, board e-mail address.

For some staff the following additional information was also affected:

• Home address, phone number, high-school department, main classroom number.

Please note that sensitive educator and staff information, like financial information, was not compromised.

What steps are you taking to prevent this from happening again?

Although this cyber incident did not take place in a Lakehead Public Schools environment, as part of our own investigative process, we are working with industry experts and using this incident as an opportunity to review our vendor retention practices and improve how we protect personal information.

Where can I learn more about the incident?

PowerSchool has posted an FAQ on their website to share information, which includes steps they have taken to address this incident and protect student, family and educator information moving forward.

Visit: https://www.powerschool.com/security/sis-incident/  

Did the Board notify the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner?

Yes, the Board has notified and is working with the Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner in responding to this incident. While you are entitled to file a complaint, the IPC has advised that it is not necessary as they are already investigating the matter.

You can visit the IPC’s website at www.ipc.on.ca.

Was any credit card or banking information involved in this incident?

No. Both PowerSchool and the Board’s own internal investigation can confirm that there is no evidence of any credit card or banking information being compromised.

Is there any indication that compromised information has been released?

PowerSchool has reported that it received confirmation that the data acquired by the unauthorized user was deleted and that the data was not posted online.

Why were you keeping my student data if I was no longer enrolled in the board?

We keep information about former students in accordance with provincial requirements under the Education Act and to respond to former student information requests. We are taking this opportunity to assess our records retention practices to ensure that we are only keeping what is necessary to conduct the Board’s business.  

I attended Lakehead Public Schools many years ago. Was my information impacted?

Our PowerSchool SIS stores data for students who attended a Lakehead Public Schools school from 2015-2016 onwards. If you were a Lakehead Public Schools student prior to this, your information was not impacted as part of this incident.

Were all PowerSchool products impacted?

No. Only PowerSchool SIS was impacted by this incident. Other PowerSchool tools, like SchoolMessenger and SmartFind were not impacted.

I have additional questions not addressed by these FAQs.

If you have additional questions, please contact us at psinfo@lakeheadschools.ca.