This is our biweekly briefing on the latest school safety news, vetted by Mark Keierleber. Register below.
Last week I wanted to write a quick news story about the FCC’s new cybersecurity grants for schools and libraries – a pilot program that will pump $200 million into the next generation of firewalls and other tools.
But then things got weird.
I came across a new entry on a notorious dark web forum – the Amazon for stolen data, if you will – that was offering millions of files allegedly stolen from the Los Angeles Unified School District for a thousand dollars.
LAUSD officials said they are investigating the anonymous threat actor’s claims, and a threat intelligence director told me the district needs to conduct a full incident response to verify whether the files are real.
Or new.
It’s not déjà vu: America’s second-largest school district fell victim to a massive ransomware attack in 2022. Thousands of students’ mental health records and other sensitive files found their way to the dark web. It’s possible that the LAUSD data has gotten its own facelift, with the same data being repackaged for a quick buck.
Read more about the latest LAUSD incident – and the FCC’s new attempt to thwart similar attacks nationally – here.
In the news
Today, workers in Florida will demolish the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School building, where a gunman killed 17 people in 2018. | The Associated Press
Relatives of 17 children killed in the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, have sued state law enforcement officers who waited 77 minutes before confronting the shooter at Robb Elementary School. | The Texas Tribune
Special report: Through an unprecedented amount of call data for 852 school addresses in California, reporters offer a rare look at “the massive police presence in schools.” A third of the calls “were about serious incidents that reasonably required the presence of police.” | EdSource
Lawmakers in New York have approved groundbreaking rules banning social media companies from using “addictive” algorithms to customize children’s feeds. Here’s a powerful overview of how the rules work. | Democrat & Chronicle
brought down: A Washington man has been sentenced to three years in prison for filing fake police reports in more than 20 states, including inciting false panic over school shootings, leading to frantic lockdowns and massive police responses. | The News Tribune
First they came for the books. Then they came for the books about book bans. | The Washington Post
A new program in Illinois to help low-income families pay funeral costs for children killed by guns aimed to ease the grief and financial burden. After a year, only two families have been compensated. | Rail
Prioritizing ‘profit over the well-being and safety of children’: Residential treatment companies that offer behavioral health services have put children at risk of sexual abuse and dangerous physical disabilities, a new Senate committee report says. | NBC News
First comes the wedding, then comes the living room: Missouri lawmakers failed to pass legislation aimed at preventing anyone under the age of 18 from getting married, while maintaining the state’s minimum age of 16. | The Kansas City star
A Tennessee school district where officials failed to prevent rampant racist bullying against a black student will overhaul its anti-harassment procedures after reaching a settlement agreement with the Justice Department. Federal investigators found that the student’s classmates passed around a drawing of a Ku Klux Klans member, added him to a bigoted group chat and sold him to white peers in a fake “slave auction.” | The Washington Post
New York City school bathrooms could soon have “vape sensors” following a court settlement with tobacco company Juul, which will donate $27 million to the city’s schools to combat youth vaping. | Chalk stroke
Research and advocacy
‘New Jimcode’: Federal officials have failed to stem the civil rights harm that artificial intelligence in schools is inflicting on students of color, a new report finds. | The Center for Law and Social Policy
DACA recipients are more likely than migrants without deportation guarantees to ask police for help, suggesting the program increases police engagement and reduces fear among crime victims. | Journal of Urban Economics
DACA recipients are more likely than migrants without deportation guarantees to ask police for help, suggesting the program increases police engagement and reduces fear among crime victims. | Journal of Urban Economics
ICYMI @The74
Emotional support
I promised you a new puppy. I’m bringing you a new puppy.
Sinead, editor Kathy Moore’s new emotional support partner, explores her domain.
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