Under Siege

Parent Group Decries Lack Of Communication

With the LAUSD failing to keep its stakeholders informed about the details of the computer hack, a crisis of confidence is steadily developing.

“Changes must be made or confidence levels in [Superintendent Carvalho’s] ability to lead and keep people informed will continue to dwindle.”

- Parents Supporting Teachers

Photo by Sebastian Mark on Unsplash

As the LAUSD’s computer systems started to malfunction on Wednesday, August 31, 2022, its users were given no indication that these anomalies were occurring throughout the district. Even as the entire system was brought down to interrupt a hack by bad actors, stakeholders were left in the dark and could only find out that they were not the only ones having a problem by networking on social media.

Even after LAUSD officials acknowledged the hack, they were not forthcoming about the extent of the damage it had caused. Superintendent Carvalho even went as far as to threaten a criminal investigation of anyone disseminating information that ran counter to the district narrative.

As Carvalho tried to construct an account that portrayed the LAUSD as victors and “mission accomplished,” systems continued to fail. While public-facing websites should have been on separate servers, the Board of Education page continues to be a temporary version that is missing much of the previously available information. A system to sign up public speakers for board meetings failed even though it does not require using any district data. Despite continued assurances that the district did not think that sensitive information had been released, the hackers released data to the dark web that included “at least several complaints detailing workplace harassment and personally identifiable information of minors.”

Even after the release, the Superintendent continues to insist that there is “no evidence of widespread impact as far as truly sensitive, confidential information.” He is “adamant” that students’ psychological assessments were not leaked, but the Los Angeles Times “found one example”. The…