$17.25M PowerSchool Settlement Resolves Class Action Over Alleged Interception Of Confidential Student Communications

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PowerSchool Holdings LLC, Hobsons, Inc., Heap Inc. (now known as Content Square, Inc.) and the Board of Education of the City of Chicago have agreed to a $17,250,000 settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit that alleged the education and technology platforms unlawfully tracked confidential student communications and data on the Naviance platform through third-party analytics software.

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The $17.25 million PowerSchool class action settlement received preliminary approval from the court on February 27, 2026 and covers all individuals in the United States who, while a student, logged into the product offered by Hobsons, and later by PowerSchool Holdings, commonly referred to as Naviance, at any point from August 18, 2021 through January 23, 2026.

The court-approved website for the PowerSchool Naviance settlement can be found at PowerSchoolNavianceSettlement.com.

According to the website, PowerSchool settlement class members who file a timely, valid claim form are eligible to receive a one-time, pro-rated cash payment from the deal. The final amount of this payout, the agreement says, will depend on the total number of valid claims filed and the amount remaining in the net settlement fund after the payment of attorneys’ fees, settlement administration expenses and lead plaintiff service awards.

Class members may receive their settlement payout via check or electronic payment, and all checks must be cashed within 180 days of issuance before expiration, the agreement says.

To file a Naviance settlement claim form online, class members can head to this page and complete all fields with relevant student information. Alternatively, class members may download a PDF of the claim form from the settlement website to print, fill out and return by mail to the address of the settlement administrator listed near the top of the document.

All PowerSchool settlement claim forms must be submitted online or by mail by May 26, 2026.

The court will determine whether to grant final approval to the PowerSchool class action settlement following a hearing on June 10, 2026. Compensation will begin to be distributed to class members only after final approval has been granted and any appeals have been resolved.

In addition to monetary benefits, the class action settlement also offers significant prospective relief regarding the use of analytics and advertising technologies within the Naviance platform, measures that court documents state will be implemented after final judgment has been entered.  

First, the agreement states that PowerSchool has agreed to create a web governance committee to assess the use of the advertising and analytics tools at issue to evaluate whether the use of third-party technologies is consistent with applicable legal requirements. PowerSchool will also cease using any software, technology and/or code offered by third parties, including Heap, Google, Microsoft, Hotjar and Gainsight, for at least the next two years unless otherwise approved by the committee, court documents add.

Furthermore, the agreement relays that PowerSchool will supplement the disclosures in the privacy statement linked on the Student.Naviance.com landing page with information about the analytics and advertising technologies used within the Naviance platform, including those offered by the aforementioned third parties.

Heap, Google, Microsoft and Hotjar have also agreed to delete, within 10 days of final judgment, all stored data and communications associated with class members who logged into the Naviance platform at any time between August 18, 2021 and January 23, 2023, and PowerSchool will request that Gainsight does the same, the settlement agreement says.

The agreement also explains that PowerSchool must prominently display a banner for a nine-month period on the Naviance landing page and the landing page of Powerschool.com that affirms the company’s commitment to privacy and that it places great importance on the proper handling of personal data, with a link to its Global Privacy Statement.

Moreover, the Board of Education of the City of Chicago (CPS) has agreed to modify the terms of its contracts with third parties that handle confidential student data until four years after the entry of final judgment.

During this period, court documents say, CPS will require all third parties entering a contractual agreement with the district to submit written attestation, under penalty of perjury, that, based on a diligent investigation, the third-party contractor reasonably believes that it is in full compliance with each provision of the contract, including those required by the Illinois School Student Records Act, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, Student Online Personal Protection Act, Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the Illinois Eavesdropping Law.

Finally, the agreement says that Heap will delete all primary data and communications of settlement class members who used Naviance during the class period and, within 30 days of final judgment, delete all backup data and communications.

The PowerSchool class action lawsuit alleged that the education information system company, in connection with data analytics firm Heap, software provider Hobsons, and the Chicago Board of Education, wrongfully intercepted students’ private communication using the Naviance college and career-readiness platform by way of third-party analytics and advertising technologies.

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