Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS), Tennessee’s largest public school district, has filed a federal lawsuit against PowerSchool over a widespread data breach that occurred in December 2023. The case is part of a broader wave of litigation, with over 100 U.S. school districts pursuing legal action against the education technology company.
The lawsuit accuses PowerSchool of failing to meet contractual obligations tied to data protection, despite being paid with public funds.
“These schools are not private businesses,” said William Shinoff, an attorney at Frantz Law Group representing the districts.
“They expect to receive the services contracted for, and it’s not a small amount of money.”
Shinoff said the districts are seeking reimbursement for taxpayer dollars spent on what they argue were unmet service agreements.
Allegations Include Security Failures and Data Exposure
According to court filings, the data breach stemmed from unauthorized access to PowerSchool’s PowerSource support portal. At the time, the system reportedly lacked multifactor authentication—a basic security measure for sensitive platforms.
The breach compromised a wide range of personally identifiable information (PII), including:
- Names and addresses
- Social Security numbers
- Phone numbers and email addresses
- Student grades and IDs
- Passwords, bus stop data, and medical details
The MSCS complaint states it is “likely” this information has already been or will soon be “published and sold on the Dark Web.”
Impact Extends Beyond District Contracts
The PowerSchool breach has also triggered approximately 50 class action lawsuits filed on behalf of affected students and teachers. These cases, consolidated in April under the U.S. District Court of Southern California, are being handled by other law firms.
Shinoff emphasized that his firm’s focus remains on district contracts.
“That’s the eventual reality,” he said.
“There’s not much trust.”
Despite the lawsuits, many districts are unable to quickly cut ties with PowerSchool due to the complexity and cost of migrating large volumes of data.
“It could take years to migrate the data … and it will cost millions of dollars to do it,” Shinoff added.
PowerSchool Responds to Legal Action
PowerSchool has not commented on the specifics of the litigation. However, a spokesperson told K-12 Dive:
“We care deeply about the students, teachers, and families we serve and are wholeheartedly committed to supporting them.”
PowerSchool is the largest cloud-based education software provider in the U.S., serving over 75% of students across North America.
