🏡 School apps, family logistics and safety · 🏫 Classroom tools
PowerSchool SIS
By PowerSchool. Visit PowerSchool SIS
Warning: read this before you buy or sign up. Checked 2026-10-24.
The student information system many US districts use for enrollment, attendance, grades, schedules, health and behavior records, and family messages. Parents and students check grades, attendance and school notices in the PowerSchool parent/student portal and PowerSchool Mobile app, and can pay fees or add lunch money. In December 2024 a hacker used a contractor's stolen login to copy records of tens of millions of students and teachers; PowerSchool paid a ransom, and districts were later extorted with the same data.
Our take: Families can't avoid it if their district uses it, but should ask what data the district stores in it and watch for breach notices.
| Ages it suits | grades K-12 and their parents |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | Run by schools. Children under 13 may use PowerSchool products only with consent from a parent or the school acting for the parent, and the school controls that data. (terms) |
| Price | Through schools. District pricing, not public; free for families whose school uses it. |
| Works on | Web, iPhone and iPad |
| Account | A school account |
| Ads | None |
| In-app purchases | None |
| The AI in it | PowerSchool adds AI helpers under the PowerBuddy name; it says customer data never trains third-party models, but it trains its own models on de-identified data. |
What's good
- One place for grades, attendance and notices
- Mobile app for parents
- No data sales or ad use by policy
Watch for
- 2024 breach exposed tens of millions of student records
- PowerSchool paid a ransom and districts were still extorted
- Families can't opt out; the district chooses
- Holds very sensitive data: health, behavior, IDs
Data and privacy
PowerSchool says it does not sell customer data, does not share under-13 data for advertising, and that schools own the records. According to the Justice Department, the stolen 2024 data included names, contact details, birth dates, and for some people Social Security numbers, medical information and parent details. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
Learning studies don't apply to a records system. The Record's reporting on the federal case describes the 2024 breach, the ransom and later extortion of districts.
In the Big Index
- The maker in the who's who: PowerSchool
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Where these facts come from
- https://www.powerschool.com/
- https://www.powerschool.com/products/student-information/sis/
- https://www.powerschool.com/privacy/
- https://www.powerschool.com/security/
- https://www.powerschool.com/responsible-ai-statement/
- https://www.powerschool.com/solutions/powerschool-ai/powerbuddy/
- https://www.powerschool.com/terms/
- https://therecord.media/college-student-to-plead-guilty-to-powerschool-hack
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.