Google Drive File Sharing

We understand that families may have questions about the district's ongoing review of Google Drive file sharing. Protecting student information is a top priority, and the district has been actively investigating, reviewing potentially affected files, correcting sharing permissions, and implementing additional safeguards since becoming aware of the issue in December 2025. The following questions and answers provide additional information about the review and the steps being taken to protect sensitive information. 

What happened?

In some cases, files were shared broadly within the district domain without fully understanding the potential privacy and security impact of those sharing settings. While the intent was likely operational collaboration, the result may have granted a wider audience access to certain files than was appropriate. 

When did the district become aware of the issue? 

We became aware of the issue in December 2025. 

What actions did WCPSS take? 

We took immediate and structured action to assess, contain, and reduce the risk associated with the legacy Google Drive sharing configuration. 

• Launched a formal review and investigation to understand the scope, root cause, and potential impact of the legacy sharing exposure. 
• Initiated ongoing and retroactive audits of Google Drive files to identify content that may have been shared more broadly than intended. 
• Corrected or removed improper sharing permissions when sensitive or confidential files were identified, including moving files into more restricted access environments where appropriate. 
• Disabled the broad domain-wide sharing pathway to prevent staff from using this legacy sharing option going forward. 
• Reduced broad file discoverability so users can no longer locate files through the prior district-wide searchable sharing path. 
• Implemented additional safeguards, monitoring, and permission controls to strengthen oversight of Google Drive sharing activity. 
• Expanded the review to include Shared Drives, legacy groups, and department-level files to ensure this is addressed as a district-wide governance improvement. 
• Increased staff awareness and guidance on the proper handling, storage, and sharing of sensitive student and district information. 
• Engaged legal and executive leadership to ensure remediation, review, and any required communications are handled responsibly and in accordance with applicable requirements. 

Was my child's personal information affected? 

The district is reviewing historical files and sharing activity to determine the scope of files that may have been shared more broadly than intended. Because student records are protected by privacy laws, the district cannot discuss information related to individual students publicly.  

Will families be notified? 

We continue our review and remediation efforts. If the review identifies circumstances requiring notification, those notifications will be provided directly to affected individuals or families, as appropriate. 

What is the district doing to prevent this from happening again? 

We have implemented: 

• Strengthened sharing restrictions. 
• Enhanced permission-setting controls. 
• Automated monitoring and detection tools. 
• Expanded auditing capabilities, including engaging external resources to support the review. 
• Additional staff training and awareness efforts. 

Is the review complete? 

No. Our review and remediation efforts are ongoing and include both active monitoring and retroactive audits of historical files and sharing activity. 

What is the district's commitment moving forward? 

We remain fully committed to protecting student information, strengthening data security controls, and improving how sensitive information is handled, stored, shared, and monitored across the district. 

Our focus moving forward is clear: complete remediation, strengthen governance, support staff with clear expectations, and continuously improve safeguards to reduce future risk.