Dear North Carolina Families,
Over the past several days, students and educators across our state experienced disruptions accessing Canvas, an online learning platform used by schools throughout North Carolina and across the nation. I know this created real frustration and inconvenience for families trying to support learning, communicate with teachers and maintain normal routines during the school day and at home.
I also recognize that this disruption came at an especially busy and important time of year, as many students are wrapping up coursework, preparing for exams, completing final projects and getting ready for graduation and end-of-year milestones. That timing made this situation even more challenging for students, families and educators alike.
I want you to know that we understand how disruptive this situation has been, and I want to personally thank you for your patience and partnership as we worked through it together.
Instructure, the company that operates Canvas, recently experienced a cybersecurity incident that affected users across the country. In an effort to protect North Carolina students, educators and schools, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) temporarily disabled access to Canvas through NCEdCloud last week while the environment was reviewed and secured. We recognize the challenges this created for classrooms and families, but protecting student and educator data had to be our top priority.
NCDPI has since received a report by CrowdStrike, a third-party cybersecurity firm assisting Instructure with the incident, and NCDPI has been informed by Instructure that the Canvas environment throughout the nation and here in North Carolina has no ongoing signs of compromise. As a result, Canvas-related services have now been restored to normal operations. Public school units (PSU) are determining when they may enable Canvas, so further communications may be forthcoming from your PSU.
Even as services return, our teams at NCDPI will continue monitoring the situation closely alongside Instructure and cybersecurity experts as additional forensic review activities continue.
I also want families to know this: moments like this remind us how connected our schools, homes and technology systems have become. When systems are interrupted, it affects real people — students trying to complete assignments, teachers trying to connect with classes and families doing their very best to keep everything moving forward. We never lose sight of that.
Thank you again for your grace, patience and continued support of North Carolina’s public schools. We are grateful for the resilience of our students, educators and families, and we remain committed to keeping your information safe while limiting disruptions to teaching and learning across our state as much as possible.
Superintendent Green