Educational Testing Service (ETS, California student testing) data breach

What happened

Educational Testing Service (ETS), which runs California's statewide school tests for the California Department of Education, said an unauthorized party used a compromised login to access an ETS file-transfer site and copy files with California student information at various times between May 22 and September 18, 2026. ETS found the activity on September 25, and the state began notifying families on October 16. The files cover students enrolled in California public schools from 2023 to the current school year, plus students who left a California school since 2006 without a confirmed transfer; the state had more than 5.7 million public-school students in 2025–26 alone, and no exact total has been published. Data includes names, dates of birth, addresses, schools and grades, student ID numbers, gender, race or ethnicity, language and English-learner status, disability and Section 504 information, program eligibility and test results. Officials say Social Security numbers, driver's license and passport numbers, financial information, passwords and parent or guardian information were not involved.

What should I do?

1. Enroll yourself or your child in the 24 months of free identity protection offered in the ETS/state notice, using the instructions for the right age group.
2. Consider a free credit freeze for children under 16 with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion so no one can open accounts in their name.
3. Be wary of emails, calls or texts that mention your child's school, disability services or test results, or that claim to be from ETS or the state; don't give out Social Security numbers or passwords.
4. Check the California Department of Education's ETS incident page for updates.

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