TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — After two high-level resignations within the Arizona Department of Education's Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program, Governor Hobbs called early Friday for Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne to release his department's plan to address a recent ESA data breach.
In the exchange, Horne met the governor's request for a written report by Thursday, Aug. 3. He concluded his response letter with a line reading, "I beat your six day deadline by six days."
According to the governor's office, ClassWallet—the third-party vendor that handles funds for ESA, the now-universal school voucher program—recently experienced a significant data breach.
Hobbs says in her letter to Horne that the ClassWallet breach compromised "thousands of personal information data points, including student names and disability categories."
Hobbs says the Arizona Department of Homeland Security's State Incident Response Team is reviewing the breach. In the letter dated Friday, July 28 Hobbs asks Horne to provide a written report detailing his current and next steps for addressing the data breach, including how his administration plans to address potential violations of state law on student data privacy.
Horne responded, saying his office had contact with ClassWallet after receiving reports of the breach, and that the company informed his team the breach was an 'isolated incident.' He says no parents were notified.
Read both letters in full:
Click lower left icon to expand letter to fullscreen view
Horne's response to the governor included heated language, apparently directed at the governor herself, saying her initial letter was "full of wild exaggerations." He deferred the responsibility of reporting the breach to Attorney General Kris Mayes back to the governor's office.
Horne says his department received the following statement July 14:
“The problem has been solved. It was a permission setting error. Once discovered, we (ClassWallet) took immediate action and corrected the permission setting.
Additionally, we performed a database search and concluded no other users were affected. Therefore, this is an isolated incident to a single user.”
Hobbs says ESA Program Director Christine Accurso and ESA program administrator Linda Rizzo both resigned their positions earlier this week, just as the first academic year after the state's universal ESA expansion is beginning.
According to Horne, the resignations were unrelated to the breach.
RELATED: Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes issues school choice voucher warnings
——
Anne Simmons is the digital executive producer for KGUN 9. Anne got her start in television while still a student at the University of Arizona. Before joining KGUN, she managed multiple public access television stations in the Bay Area and has worked as a video producer in the non-profit sector. Share your story ideas and important issues with Anne by emailing anne.simmons@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn.
