Pasadena Unified Assessing Potential Local Impact of Statewide Student Testing Data Breach – Pasadena Now

The Pasadena Unified School District said Saturday it is assessing any potential impact on the District from a statewide breach of student data at California’s testing contractor, adding that its systems “are currently up and running.”
The breach involves Educational Testing Service, the nonprofit that administers California’s statewide tests. According to the California Department of Education, an unauthorized party used a compromised login credential to access an ETS file transfer site and copy files containing California student information at various times between May 22 and Sept. 18.
The department has not released a total number of affected students, and the District did not say how many of its students may be among them. Reuters reported that millions of students’ data was accessed.
The department says affected individuals include current and former students enrolled in California public schools from 2023 through the current school year, and students who left a California school since 2006 and did not confirm a transfer to another school with the department.
The information varies by student but may include names, birth dates, home addresses, schools, grade levels, student identification numbers, gender, race or ethnicity, primary language, country of origin and English learner status. It may also include disability and Section 504 status, testing accommodations, eligibility for programs such as Title I and McKinney-Vento, and state test registration, participation and results. Not every record contained every type of information, the department said.
Social Security numbers, driver’s license and passport numbers, financial account and card information, and passwords were not included, and no parent or guardian personal information was involved, the notice said.
ETS identified the unauthorized activity Sept. 25, disabled the account involved, took the site offline and opened an investigation, the department said. In an Oct. 2 letter to school leaders, the department said ETS had “halted normal enrollment data processing and paused certain testing activities” while its systems’ security was assessed.
ETS began notifying affected students and families Friday; the department expects distribution to continue through early November.
According to the notice, ETS has built a new file transfer site with enhanced security controls and, following regular web monitoring, has to date found no evidence that the information has been made public. In a statement to Reuters, ETS said it has “implemented additional safeguards, including enhanced monitoring, strengthened access controls, and further third-party review of our security practices.”
The department and the State Board of Education are reviewing the incident and ETS’s compliance with applicable data security and contractual requirements.
ETS is offering affected current and former students two years of Experian IdentityWorks identity protection at no cost, with no credit card required. A notification letter or email means a student’s information was in the copied files. Not receiving one does not necessarily mean a student was unaffected, the department said; some students may not get a notice, particularly if their contact information has changed.
The department lists a March 19, 2027, enrollment deadline for students under 18; its notice gives both that date and March 19, 2029, for adults.
The department warns against sharing Social Security numbers, passwords or financial information in response to unsolicited requests about the incident.
Details are at www.cde.ca.gov/ets. Questions: 833-931-8488, Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.; engagement number B174774 for students under 18 or B174775 for those 18 or over.
Pasadena Unified said it is “monitoring the state’s ongoing investigation” and “will share additional information as it becomes available.”
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