Another Year, Another Breach

Fairfax County Public Schools Fails—Again—to Secure Student Educational Records

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), Virginia, has—again—failed to protect students’ educational records and personally identifiable information, despite previous assurances that new practices were put in place to ensure records are secure, complete, and accessible to the students (and their parents) to whom they belong within mandated timelines.

This noncompliance has been occurring since at least 2017.

New Breach

According to a letter dated February 28, 2025, on November 14, 2024, FCPS included student records in a shared link sent to Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) and a parent (even though the parent is not the parent of all the students whose records were accessible through the link). VDOE made FCPS aware of the breach and FCPS alleges it immediately investigated. There is no explanation for the over three month gap between when the breach occurred and when FCPS alerted parents and students.

The letters indicate the breach impacts both enrolled and graduated students.

The body of the two letters follows: