D304, D303 Students Names, Birth Dates Accessed in Data Breach

GENEVA, IL — At least two local school districts were notified this past week regarding a data breach that could have led to "unauthorized access" to student information. The first and last names of students and in some cases, their birth dates and e-mail addresses, were affected by the third-party data breach, which occurred within the Pearson Assessments AIMSweb 1.0 platform, according to information posted on the District 304 website.

District 304 and District 303 school districts were among 13,000 account holders with Pearson Assessments that were notified about the data breach, the Daily Herald reports. District 304 officials says the no longer use AIMSweb 1.0, which was used for assessment purposes in elementary in middle schools. The school district stopped using the platform after the 2016-17 school year.

Naperville Unit District 203 and Indian Prairie Unit District 204 have also notified the community about the data breach, which includes staff members e-mails and names as well, according to the Daily Herald.

Pearson learned of the data breach in mid-March 2019 but a specific date range for the breach is not known at this time, according to a news release from District 304.

No educational records were included in the data security incident and no grade or assessment information was affected. The AIMSweb 1.0 platform does not contain Social Security numbers, credit card data, or other financial information.

The data affected may include first and last name, job title, work e-mail and work address.

"While we do not have any evidence that this information as been misused, we wanted to bring this to your attention as a precaution," Arthur Valentine, Pearson clinical assessment managing director, wrote in a letter to District 304. Pearson is also working with law enforcement to get more answers regarding the data breach. The full letter from Valentine to Distrirct 304 officials is available online.

In addition, the company is offering free, complimentary credit monitoring services from Experian as a precautionary measure. Those interested in utilizing this service can call 866-883-3309 or send an e-mail to aimsweb1request@pearson.com.

District 304 officials are also encouraging parents to periodically review the credit reports for you or your child to ensure that all open lines of credit are correct. Adults and children aged 13 and older can obtain one free copy of their credit report every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies by ordering online from https://www.annualcreditreport.com or calling 1-877-322-8228. These sources are also listed at the Federal Trade Commission’s website here: https://www.ftc.gov/faq/consumer-protection/get-my-free-credit-report. Some individuals choose to obtain all three reports at the same time, while others may obtain them at intervals throughout the year. Children under the age of 13 should not have a credit file.

"Geneva Community Unit School District 304 has not used the AIMSweb 1.0 platform since the 2016-17 school year and has no plans to use this product in the future," according to information shared by District 304 with parents. "However, like many other area school districts, Geneva Community Unit School District 304 presently utilizes aimsweb®PLUS, which is a newer version of the product, and which we are informed by Pearson is unaffected by this incident."

District 304 officials plan to post any updates regarding the data breach to the district's home page as quickly as possible.