ALEXNDRIA, La. (WNTZ) – The Rapides Parish School Board is shifting its student information system from PowerSchool to OnCourse, following months of discussions with school administrators, teachers and district leadership.

District officials announced the change this week on Facebook, describing OnCourse as a more user-friendly system designed to help school leaders analyze student data and improve academic outcomes, while offering parents easier access to grades and school information.

“OnCourse is designed with one goal in mind: equipping leaders with information geared to boost student achievement while making it easier for parents to stay informed about their child’s academic journey,” the district said in its post.

The transition comes months after a cybersecurity incident involving PowerSchool affected school systems across Louisiana and the nation.

Earlier this year, the Rapides Parish School Board confirmed that sensitive data involving students, staff and guardians had been compromised in a breach affecting PowerSchool, the district’s former Student Information System. The data breach, discovered in December 2024, involved unauthorized access through a compromised credential and potentially exposed personally identifiable information, including names, addresses, contact details, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, health information and student grades.

PowerSchool has reported the breach could impact individuals nationwide, with more than 60 million people potentially affected over nearly three decades of data stored on its systems.

While PowerSchool indicated it had secured its systems and received “reasonable assurances from the threat actor that the data has been deleted,” Rapides Parish officials said they were committed to transparency and took proactive measures to protect local information.

Affected individuals are being offered credit monitoring and identity protection services, and district officials have urged families and staff to remain vigilant against potential identity theft.

Parents in Rapides Parish are encouraged to download the new OnCourse Connect app, which allows users to view grades, attendance and other reports. Those who previously had PowerSchool accounts can use the same email address to set up their new accounts, though new users will need to obtain an access code from their child’s school.

More information about the transition and instructions for accessing the new system are available at www.rpsb.us/b2s.