Education & Workforce Articles

The modern K-12 school environment relies heavily on the "internet of things" for daily operations and instruction. As such, when a school's information technology infrastructure is hit by a cyberattack, the effect can be incredibly disruptive and costly.

This final article of 2025 explores the various actions state legislatures are taking to centralize cybersecurity use standards and incident reporting requirements. It also analyzes proposals to embed responsible computer practices into the K-12 curriculum and deliver financial aid to school districts struggling with rising cyber-insurance costs.

The Stateline Midwest article can be found HERE.

Research Resources

Keeping Kids Safe in School

On Nov. 13, our committee co-hosted a webinar with the MLC Corrections & Public Safety Forum. The policy session touched on recent efforts being made in Midwestern states and across the country to make school environments safer.

The session included a presentation by the founder of the nonprofit Make Our Schools Safe, which has worked with state lawmakers and other leaders on initiatives to install silent panic alarms in K-12 schools. The goal of these initiatives is to improve response times to emergency situations. The webinar also featured a presentation by the Learning Policy Institute and its recently published national report on behavioral threat assessments of students.

Thank you to those of you who were able to attend. A copy of the recording and links to the PowerPoint presentations and related research can be found on the CSG Midwest website HERE.

Interested in attending more webinars? You're in luck. Other committees of the Midwestern Legislative Conference and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Legislative Caucus are holding online policy sessions, open to all, during the last week of November and in mid-December.

Dates and registration links can be found above in the "Upcoming Events" section, or you can check out the CSG Midwest events page HERE.