Majority of Districts Lack Dedicated Cybersecurity Funding

According to a recent CoSN survey, most school districts (61%) do not have dedicated funding to keep networks and data secure, instead relying on general funds to pay for cybersecurity efforts. For its 2025 State of EdTech District Leadership report, the association polled 645 ed tech leaders across the United States about evolving cybersecurity measures and other issues faced by today's schools and districts.

Thirteen percent of respondents said they use district dedicated funds for cybersecurity; 9% cited federal funding sources, and 7% look to "other" sources to pay for district cybersecurity measures.

What are those funds being spent on? More than three-quarters of respondents (78%) said they are investing in cybersecurity monitoring, detection, and response tactics. Other areas of spending include:

  • Endpoint protection (cited by 65% of respondents);
  • Advanced/next-generation firewall (57%); and
  • Identity protection and authentication (57%).

Surprisingly, respondents' perception of various cyber risks was low, the report found. While phishing scams were rated as high-risk by 27% of respondents, unauthorized disclosure of student data and ransomware attacks were each perceived as high-risk by just 13%. Identity theft came in at 10%, and malware and DDoS attacks each came in at 7%.

"These risk assessments do not appear take into account the value of K-12 student data to cyber criminals," the report warned. "Risks are very high considering the data security incidents experienced by better-funded, better-resourced public and business sector organizations. With current federal policy changes and the funding cuts to the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) which had provided cybersecurity training at no cost, cybersecurity risks for districts are poised to increase."

Still, the vast majority of respondents (94%) said their district has plans in place to improve their data privacy practices. Areas of focus include:

  • Data security: protecting the confidentiality of student data across all media and auditing regularly (cited by 71% of respondents);
  • Professional development: privacy and security training for all staff and related resources for parents (64%);
  • Business: vetting processes and data protection agreements for third parties receiving student data (44%);
  • Leadership: guidance and resources to direct transparent use and governance of student data (41%); and
  • Classroom: building privacy knowledge while advancing curricular goals (36%).

In fact, districts are increasingly adopting processes to vet free ed tech tools before integrating them into teaching and learning:

  • 69% require review by IT, up from 60% in 2023;
  • 59% utilize an "approved" apps list, compared to 42% in 2023;
  • 56% have an established process for adding apps to the "approved" list, compared to 40% in 2023;
  • 39% have a designated person in place to approve free apps, compared to 30% in 2023; and
  • 23% review all license renewals at the school level, up slightly from 22% in 2023.

The full report is available on the CoSN site here.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Abstract AI circuit board pattern

    Nonprofit LawZero to Work Toward Safer, Truthful AI

    Turing Award-winning AI researcher Yoshua Bengio has launched LawZero, a nonprofit aimed at developing AI systems that prioritize safety and truthfulness over autonomy.

  • abstract pattern of cybersecurity, ai and cloud imagery

    Report Identifies Malicious Use of AI in Cloud-Based Cyber Threats

    A recent report from OpenAI identifies the misuse of artificial intelligence in cybercrime, social engineering, and influence operations, particularly those targeting or operating through cloud infrastructure. In "Disrupting Malicious Uses of AI: June 2025," the company outlines how threat actors are weaponizing large language models for malicious ends — and how OpenAI is pushing back.

  • tutor and student working together at a laptop

    You've Paid for Tutoring. Here's How to Make Sure It Works.

    As districts and states nationwide invest in tutoring, it remains one of the best tools in our educational toolkit, yielding positive impacts on student learning at scale. But to maximize return on investment, both financially and academically, we must focus on improving implementation.

  • red brick school building with a large yellow "AI" sign above its main entrance

    New National Academy for AI Instruction to Provide Free AI Training for Educators

    In an effort to "transform how artificial intelligence is taught and integrated into classrooms across the United States," the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), in partnership with Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, and the United Federation of Teachers, is launching the National Academy for AI Instruction, a $23 million initiative that will provide access to free AI training and curriculum for all AFT members, beginning with K-12 educators.