Buzzfeed News discovered that a D.C. Public Schools “intranet” was unintentionally exposed to the public until they reached out to school officials Monday. The confidential information of special needs students had been open for public view since 2010. The DCPS intranet contained hundreds of documents regarding the school system, particularly the special education program. A database with sensitive information about special education students, teachers and other school workers was also left vulnerable. Dr. Nathaniel Beers, chief of specialized instruction for D.C. Public Schools, stated that no data was actually compromised. Beers added that DCPS immediately shut down the site and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education changed the login information to the database. A public apology was made to students and families, with a promise to tighten up security practices to ensure that such a breach can never occur again. Washington Teachers Union President Elizabeth Davis commented that this was a very serious violation of both teacher and student confidentiality and privacy. She also said that it is premature to assume that an apology is enough until they know the extent of the damage.
