Let’s face it—running a school today means managing more than classrooms and curriculums. You’re also responsible for protecting an ever-growing digital ecosystem: Chromebooks, cloud-based platforms, Wi-Fi networks, sensitive student data, and dozens of apps used every day. And behind all that tech? A team—or sometimes just one person—doing their best to keep things secure.
The benefits of securing and managing information systems in schools are significant: protecting educational records ensures the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of valuable data, directly supporting student opportunities, staff needs, and the overall reliability of the institution.
That’s why clearly defining cybersecurity roles in schools has never been more important. In this guide, we’ll walk through the real structure of a K-12 IT team, spotlight the most critical cybersecurity duties, and explain how schools of all sizes can build a more secure environment, step by step. Whether you’re managing technology at a district level or exploring a career shift into K-12 cybersecurity, this is your roadmap.
1. The core structure of a K-12 IT team
You might imagine a well-staffed IT department with defined roles, firewalls, and incident response plans. But for many K-12 schools, the reality is often far more modest: one overworked tech coordinator, juggling everything from broken projectors to ransomware alerts.
Still, whether your school is rural with a handful of staff or part of a large district with a multi-site infrastructure, one thing is clear: cybersecurity starts with structure. Organizations—including schools, districts, and external partners—must collaborate to enhance cybersecurity and share resources, ensuring a more comprehensive and resilient approach.
Common roles in a school IT team:
- IT Director / Technology Coordinator: Leads the strategic direction of technology use and security, aligns IT goals with district priorities, and ensures compliance with laws like FERPA, CIPA, and COPPA.
- Superintendent: Oversees school records management, ensures the safety of students and staff, and implements security policies across the district.
- Network/System Administrator: Maintains secure school networks, manages firewalls, routers, and content filters, and handles data backup and recovery protocols.
- IT Support / Help Desk Technician: Provides day-to-day technical support, addresses user issues, and identifies potential security red flags from the front lines.
- EdTech Support / Digital Learning Coordinator: Works closely with teachers to implement technology in the classroom safely and effectively; vets tools and provides training on secure digital practices.
- Information Security Officer (if available): Focuses solely on cybersecurity—risk assessments, policy development, breach response, and proactive security training.
Why defined roles matter:
In 2023, a CoSN report found that 30% of school districts still operate without dedicated cybersecurity staff. This lack of role clarity leads to blurred responsibilities, missed red flags, and delayed responses when incidents occur.
A clear division of roles not only helps avoid internal confusion but also provides external accountability—something increasingly critical as schools face more regulatory and cyberattack pressure. Clear roles also make it easier to track the status of incidents, ensuring transparency in how each issue is addressed and resolved.
Example: In a district with well-defined roles, when a phishing attempt hits, the help desk logs it, the system admin investigates, the IT Director triggers communication protocols, and the InfoSec Officer leads remediation. In an undefined system? Everyone waits for someone else to act.
Key cybersecurity-focused roles (and what they actually do)
Understanding cybersecurity in schools means more than having a firewall—it means knowing who owns what responsibility, and how each role contributes to keeping student data and district operations secure. With the increasing importance of digital safety, there are growing employment opportunities in school districts for cybersecurity and data protection roles. Whether you’re building a team or improving one, these are the people who make school cybersecurity work.
IT director / technology coordinator
This role sets the tone for how technology and security are prioritized across the district. As the head of technology and security decision-making, the IT Director is ultimately responsible for overseeing and developing information security policies. It’s a strategic leadership position that blends vision with policy enforcement.
Key duties include:
- Creating and maintaining a district-wide cybersecurity plan
- Defining acceptable use policies and ensuring FERPA/COPPA/CIPA compliance
- Leading cross-functional incident response planning with admin and legal teams
- Reviewing procurement decisions to ensure new tech meets security standards
Tip: This role should regularly present cybersecurity updates to school boards to keep leadership engaged and accountable.
Network/system administrator
Think of this role as the backbone of the school’s digital infrastructure. They’re responsible for making sure systems are running securely—and smoothly.
Core responsibilities:
- Configuring and monitoring firewalls, routers, and content filters
- Managing user access, multi-factor authentication, and endpoint controls
- Overseeing network segmentation to reduce breach impact
- Conducting daily log reviews to spot early signs of compromise
- Providing technical support for computer hardware and troubleshooting device connectivity issues
Stat: According to the State of Ransomware in Education Report by Sophos, 80% of schools hit by ransomware had insufficient network segmentation.
Information security officer (when available)
This role focuses entirely on managing cyber risk—and schools are increasingly realizing how crucial it is. It is important to hire a qualified Information Security Officer to ensure effective oversight and management of information security. In smaller districts, this may be a part-time function within the IT Director role.
Main responsibilities:
- Conducting annual risk assessments and internal audits
- Reviewing third-party vendor agreements for data security clauses
- Leading incident investigations and regulatory reporting
- Coordinating cybersecurity awareness training for staff and students
Pro tip: This person should participate in broader district planning to ensure cybersecurity is considered in curriculum tech adoption, grants, and partnerships.
EdTech / digital learning coordinator
Cybersecurity in education isn’t just about IT—it’s about how safely technology is used for learning. This role connects the dots between classroom tools and secure implementation. EdTech Coordinators are helpful resources for teachers, students, and parents, assisting them in navigating technology and security challenges, providing guidance, and troubleshooting issues to enhance educational experiences.
Key tasks:
- Vetting digital tools and platforms for privacy compliance before deployment
- Training teachers on safe digital classroom practices
- Helping students understand their digital footprint and data privacy
- Supporting digital citizenship programs and online behavior education
Help desk / tech support staff
They may not be writing policy, but help desk technicians are often the first to see signs that something’s wrong. Their proximity to daily user behavior makes them a critical defense layer. Monitoring users' activity and supporting users in maintaining secure practices are essential for preventing security incidents and ensuring the overall safety of the system.
They help with:
- Spotting suspicious logins, browser extensions, or device behavior
- Monitoring Checkout devices and device support
- Reporting phishing attempts from user-submitted tickets
- Supporting password resets, MFA setup, and secure access configuration
- Teaching teachers quick security wins during support calls (e.g., why not to reuse passwords)
Stat: 64% of school IT leaders warn ransomware threatens education quality.
Cybersecurity responsibilities everyone should share
School leaders
- Lead by example: When principals, superintendents, and administrators prioritize cybersecurity in their actions, it signals that data protection is a core institutional value—not just an IT issue.
- Ensure strategic investment: Allocate budget not just for devices, but for the tools and people that secure them. Fund ongoing training, risk audits, and emergency planning.
- Champion policies: Support the development of clear cybersecurity protocols and integrate them into broader school policies, ensuring compliance with relevant cybersecurity law and regulations. Regularly review them with staff and stakeholders.
- Create visibility: Share cybersecurity updates during board meetings and in public communications to build transparency and buy-in.
Teachers
- Stay vigilant in the classroom: Lock screens when stepping away. Monitor for unauthorized access to devices or student accounts. Keep login credentials secure.
- Be a digital role model: Practice safe behavior online—use strong, unique passwords, and double-check links before clicking.
- Support digital literacy: Help students develop critical thinking skills when navigating online platforms, understanding terms of service, and spotting misinformation. Use educational materials focused on data security and privacy to teach students how to protect their information.
- Bridge the communication gap: Quickly report any suspicious activity or device issues to IT teams and encourage students to do the same.
Bonus idea: Assign “Digital Responsibility Captains” in classrooms to help reinforce safe practices during group work or device use.
Students
- Understand their role: Teach students—early and often—that cybersecurity isn’t just an adult issue. Their behavior matters.
- Build safe habits: Encourage students to use strong passwords, log out of shared devices, and avoid downloading apps or extensions without permission.
- Know when to speak up: Give them a clear path for reporting phishing attempts, suspicious messages, or inappropriate content.
- Own their footprint: Help students understand the long-term impact of their digital presence and how to protect their privacy. Emphasize the importance of safeguarding age-related information, as age verification is often used in educational settings to determine eligibility for certain resources and activities.
Parents
- Extend the safety net to home: Configure routers with secure passwords, enable parental controls on devices, and talk about cybersecurity at the dinner table—not just during emergencies.
- Make it relatable: Use real-life stories about scams, breaches, or digital mistakes to make cybersecurity lessons stick.
- Get involved: Participate in school cybersecurity awareness nights, read newsletters, and ask questions. Engagement builds trust and preparedness. Parents are encouraged to visit the school's cybersecurity resource page for more information and updates.
- Collaborate with IT teams: Report concerns like phishing messages received through school communication tools and stay alert to changes in student behavior related to device usage.
Actionable idea: Offer a printable “Home Cyber Safety Checklist” for families at the start of each school year.
By clearly defining responsibilities across these groups, cybersecurity becomes a collective mindset—not just a set of rules. It fosters a school community where tech is used confidently and securely, and where everyone feels empowered to protect what matters most.
Best practices to define and support cybersecurity roles in schools
Every successful cybersecurity strategy starts with clear expectations. When roles are defined, policies are aligned to frameworks, and teams are trained to respond—not just react—schools become significantly more resilient to digital threats. It is essential to establish clear procedures for developing, implementing, and reviewing cybersecurity policies to ensure consistent and effective protection.
Here’s how to move from intention to action:
5.1 Create a cybersecurity responsibility matrix
Start by mapping who’s responsible for what. A RACI chart (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) helps identify overlaps, fill gaps, and streamline communication in a crisis.
Example tasks to define:
- Who is responsible for updating software?
- Who is accountable for breach reporting?
- Who must be informed when suspicious activity is reported?
Tip: Review the matrix at the start of each school year—and after any major incident.
5.2 Align with a cybersecurity framework
The K12 SIX framework builds on NIST and tailors it to schools. Use it to shape your cybersecurity strategy around five actionable functions. It's crucial not only to develop these NIST-aligned security measures but also to focus on implementing them, ensuring they are actively integrated into daily school operations for effective protection.
- Identify: Know what you need to protect (devices, data, access points).
- Protect: Use tools, training, and policies to reduce exposure.
- Detect: Monitor systems to quickly recognize threats.
- Respond: Have clear plans for containing and recovering from incidents.
- Recover: Learn from incidents and strengthen your defenses.
Bonus: Use these pillars as the structure for annual audits and improvement plans.
5.3 Simulate real-world breach scenarios
Tabletop exercises aren’t just for big corporations. Simulating a cyber incident in a staff meeting or PD session helps uncover blind spots before they become problems.
Sample scenario: A teacher clicks on a phishing link and unknowingly shares their login. Who’s alerted first? What systems are at risk? How is communication handled?
Outcome: These exercises reduce response time and improve team coordination during real events. They also help identify vulnerabilities in existing security protocols, allowing schools to address potential weaknesses before they are exploited.
5.4 Invest in ongoing training
Technology changes fast. Regular training keeps teams ready.
- Certify IT staff in Security+, CETL, or CISSP to ensure a solid cybersecurity foundation.
- Offer professional development hours or stipends for teachers and staff completing annual cybersecurity training.
- Incorporate short refreshers in staff meetings or newsletters (e.g., “Tip of the Week: How to Spot a Phishing Email”).
- Provide staff with access to up-to-date training resources to support ongoing cybersecurity education.
Best Practice: Track who completes training and offer incentives like certificates or public recognition.
Conclusion: a secure school starts with clear roles
The stakes are high. Student data. Classroom continuity. District-wide operations. Cybersecurity touches it all. It’s essential to maintain strong security practices to protect school operations and safeguard sensitive data.
But the good news is this: schools don’t need to be perfect—they just need to be prepared. That starts by defining roles, training staff, and building a culture where cybersecurity is part of the everyday conversation. Strong cybersecurity measures can have a positive impact on the lives of students, staff, and families, protecting their personal information and future opportunities.
At Prey, we’re here to help you do just that.
Let’s build safer digital campuses—together.
