Kate Royals
The Mississippi Department of Education is asking the Tunica County School District to alert parents and other community members after its students’ personal information was posted on the website.
The information included social security numbers, medical and discipline data, Detention/Suspension Roster Summaries, Mississippi Student Information System numbers, disability status and more, according to a June 19 letter from MDE to the district’s superintendent.
MDE said it became aware of the information on the site through complaints from parents.
Read more on The Clarion-Ledger.
A statement on the district’s Facebook page yesterday reads:
The Tunica County School District wishes to inform stakeholders of an information data breach resulting from documents to include but not limited to discipline reports and safety plans being published on the district website. Although the location on the website and the large amount of documents made the information difficult to access, there is a possibility it could have been accessed and misused. A detailed letter will be published on the district website within the next 24 hours to provide stakeholders with the appropriate next steps in the unlikely event this information is misused. The next steps will mirror strategies adopted by government agencies and corporations who have recently experienced information breaches. We thank you for your continued support in our mission to prepare every student for global leadership.
That statement seems to underestimate the extent of personal and sensitive information that was exposed.
At the time of this posting, there is as yet no statement on the district’s web site, but parents reportedly received automated calls yesterday informing them of the breach.
A copy of the state’s letter to the district was posted by MyFoxMemphis, who also report on the incident.