California Dept. of Education reports data breach

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KESQ) - The California Department of Education issued a notice about a data breach that may have impacted some Coachella Valley schools.

Educational Testing Service (ETS), the organization that supports California's statewide testing programs, reported the breach.

ETS says an unauthorized person used a compromised login credential to access and copy student information between May and September. ETS discovered the activity on September 25, disabled the account, and took the affected site offline.

The affected records include information about students enrolled during the 3 previous school years, as well as some other current and former students. That includes data like student names and addresses, Social Security numbers, licenses, and their parents' personal information were not involved in the breach.

ETS is offering identity theft protection services to affected students and has released recommendations for those who believe they may have been affected. 

If you are unsure whether you or your scholar is affected, contact the incident assistance line at 833-931-8488.

ETS is offering 24 months of free Experian IdentityWorks identity-protection services to affected current and former scholars whose information was accessed and copied.

Two service packages are available:

• Scholars under age 18: A parent or legal guardian can enroll an affected scholar in Experian IdentityWorks Minor Plus at www.experianidworks.com/minorplus. The enrollment deadline is March 19, 2027.
• Individuals age 18 or older: Affected adults, including former scholars, can enroll directly at www.experianidworks.com/identity. The enrollment deadline is March 19, 2027.

Affected minors who turn 18 before March 19, 2029, may enroll in the adult service upon turning 18 using the adult activation code provided in the official notification.

To enroll, use the appropriate website above and the activation code provided in the attached official ETS notice. Enrollment instructions and activation codes are also available on the ETS Notification page.