Washington, D.C. (January 26, 2022) – CoSN released a new policy report revealing 2021 trends in cybersecurity legislation impacting education and illustrates that cybersecurity concerns continue to be the number one issue for K-12 edtech leaders.

The report seeks to inform education leaders and policymakers about the changing cybersecurity legislative landscape so that they can take advantage of new resources and programs, and learn about cybersecurity policy strategies proposed or adopted by other jurisdictions.

“This report provides educators and policymakers a comprehensive map of all of the K-12 cybersecurity-related legislation considered last year across the U.S. The amount of policy action was exceedingly high, and it is unlikely that this trend will lessen in the coming state legislative sessions. This report provides leaders with the details you need – whether it’s federal trends or what is happening in your backyard,” said Keith Krueger, CEO of CoSN.

The report, “2021 State and Federal Cybersecurity Policy Trends: Insights for Education Technology Leaders & Policymakers,” highlights:

  • Legislators in 40 states introduced at least 170 cybersecurity bills that focused directly or indirectly on the education sector compared to 2020 when state leaders introduced only 87 cybersecurity bills.
  • Fifty-one of the 2021 bills – in 30 states – became law. The new laws revealed several national trends, including policies focused on required incident reporting, state governance changes, dedicated state agency funding, required state planning and creating exemptions from state “sunshine laws” for sensitive cybersecurity information.
  • Legislators introduced at least 19 federal bills with cybersecurity provisions that directly or indirectly apply to the education sector compared to 10 such bills in 2020.

The full Cybersecurity Policy Trends report is available to download for CoSN members and non-members here. Learn more about CoSN’s cybersecurity work at cosn.org/edtech-topics/cybersecurity/. This report was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and should not be attributed to the foundation.

About CoSN

CoSN (the Consortium for School Networking) is the premier professional association for school system technology leaders. CoSN provides thought leadership resources, community best practices and advocacy tools to help leaders succeed in the digital transformation. CoSN represents over 13 million students in school districts nationwide and continues to grow as a powerful and influential voice in K-12 education. cosn.org

MEDIA CONTACT:

Kate Klimaszewski, kklimaszewski@fratelli.com, 202-822-9491