{"id":773859,"date":"2026-05-05T01:49:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T01:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/773859\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T01:49:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T01:49:13","slug":"nyc-public-schools-get-lousy-grade-on-protecting-student-privacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/773859\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC public schools get lousy grade on protecting student privacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 NYC public schools suffer from glaring omissions in student data privacy policies, a new audit by State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli found, raising fresh concerns about the embrace of artificial intelligence in the classroom<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For example, auditors found the city\u2019s school system doesn\u2019t have written policies on risk assessment and data backups, or keep a full list of all applications used by local schools. More than a quarter of school employees skip annual cybersecurity trainings, according to the comptroller\u2019s office \u2014 and if a breach does occur, local education officials may fail to report the incident or notify families in a timely manner<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cProtecting student data is paramount,\u201d DiNapoli said in a statement. \u201cMy auditors found NYCPS needs to take additional actions to better secure the privacy and security of student data, including reporting breaches or notifying affected parties within the required time frames.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 141 breaches and inadvertent data releases between 2023 and 2025, the comptroller\u2019s office found officials delayed reporting 48% of incidents to the New York State Education Department, and held up notifying families about 11% of the time. Delayed notifications ranged from 1 to 460 days.<\/p>\n

DiNapoli issued the audit amid growing resistance to AI \u2014 and education technology in general \u2014 in public schools across the five boroughs.<\/p>\n

Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels in March provided teachers and principals with initial guidance on AI in the classroom<\/a>, with a full playbook due next month. The guidance sparked protests and got more parents and teachers involved in a local movement against AI<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The response led Samuels to pump the breaks on a controversial plan to open the city\u2019s first AI-focused high school<\/a>. While officials have declined to release the data, the proposal\u2019s backers estimate that close to 1,000 students applied. Concerned students, parents and teachers railed against AI<\/a> last week during a seven-hour education panel meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe audit from the State Comptroller\u2019s office released today confirms what many NYC advocates have long known: the privacy policies and practices of the NYC Dept. of Education are sloppy, irresponsible and show a lack of concern for keeping students\u2019 personal information safe from breach and misuse,\u201d said Leonie Haimson, co-chair of the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy and member of the AI Moratorium Coalition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis makes DOE\u2019s insistent push to rapidly expand the use of Artificial Intelligence tools in our schools unwarranted, given how these tools represent an even greater risk to student privacy and safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to young people\u2019s safety, there\u2019s reason for unease.<\/p>\n

During the 2021-22 school year, more than 1 million local students had their personal information leaked in a breach involving a popular public school vendor, Illuminate Education<\/a>. In January of last year, cybercriminals struck again, this time targeting the education technology company PowerSchool<\/a> in what has emerged as the largest breach of American children\u2019s private data.<\/p>\n

A rep for the public schools said officials disagreed with some of the audit\u2019s findings, including that they were unable to identify which schools used PowerSchool because of the lack of a centralized list of applications. In the audit, officials also defended their trainings, pointing to reminders and follow-up communications to school employees who miss the annual deadline.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, we remain focused on continuous improvement,\u201d said Onika Richards, the spokeswoman, \u201cand will continue strengthening policies, oversight, and training to ensure student information is protected across our schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

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