# K–12 Cybersecurity Act of 2021: Plain Language Summary

Schools across America are getting hacked, and when they do, hackers can steal sensitive information about students and teachers—things like grades, medical records, and personal details. This bill asks the federal government to help schools protect themselves from these cyber attacks by creating a roadmap and training materials they can use.

Here's what the bill actually does: The Department of Homeland Security has to study the specific cyber threats that K–12 schools face, figure out what makes schools particularly vulnerable, and then create practical guidelines schools can follow to better protect their computer systems and student data. Within about four months, they'll also need to brief Congress on what they found. After that, they'll develop an online training toolkit—basically an educational resource—that school officials can use to learn about these cybersecurity recommendations and figure out how to put them into practice. All of this information will be posted on the Department of Homeland Security's website so schools can access it for free.

The important thing to know is that this bill doesn't force schools to do anything. Schools can choose whether or not to follow the recommendations. The bill is essentially saying the federal government should provide schools with expert guidance and training tools to help them defend against hackers, but it's up to each school to decide what to do with that information. This matters for students and parents because better school cybersecurity means less risk that personal information like grades, health records, or Social Security numbers could end up in the wrong hands.

K–12 Cybersecurity Act of 2021

Langevin, James R.

K-12 Cybersecurity Act of 2021 This bill requires the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to study the cybersecurity risks facing elementary and secondary schools and develop recommendations that include cybersecurity guidelines designed to assist schools in facing those risks. The use of such recommendations shall be voluntary. The study must evaluate the challenges that schools face in securing (1) information systems owned, leased, or relied upon by those schools; and (2) sensitive student and employee records. Further, the bill requires CISA to (1) develop an online training toolkit designed for school officials; and (2) make available on the Department of Homeland Security website the study's findings, the cybersecurity guidelines, and the toolkit.