Melvin Carter, the mayor of St. Paul, Minn., unveiled his 2026 budget proposal last week, which includes over $1 million to strengthen the city’s ability to prevent, detect, and respond to cybersecurity threats.

As federal support for K-12 cybersecurity dwindles, a new Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) report reveals state lawmakers are moving to fill the gap, with bipartisan efforts in five states reshaping how K-12 schools prepare for mounting cyber threats. 

The personal information, including names, dates of birth, addresses, and Social Security numbers of former students in a South Carolina school district, was posted online following a data breach. 

Several technology-focused associations representing state and local officials are urging congressional appropriators to reinstate Federal funding for the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), which they said is a vital cybersecurity coordination hub relied upon by governments across the country.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes issued a call on Aug. 12 for $13.5 million of new cybersecurity funding to help modernize and protect the state’s election infrastructure following a recent attempted cyberattack on his office’s candidate portal.

School districts throughout Ohio need to meet new cybersecurity requirements for the upcoming school year that cover responses to cyber incidents and ransom demands from attackers.  

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on August 1 that it is offering $103.8 million of grant funding to state, local, and tribal governments to “strengthen community cybersecurity.”

More than 400 school district leaders from across the country are calling on Congress and the Trump administration to restore Federal funding and leadership for K-12 cybersecurity and educational technology.

With a March presidential executive order putting some breathing room between the Federal government and states on cybersecurity protections – and state and local governments hoping for a second go-round of funding from Congress under the 2021 State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) – we checked in with Gary Barlet, Illumio’s public sector chief technology officer, for his read on the new landscape.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday signed into law S.7672A/A.6769A, which aims to enhance the cybersecurity of state and local government networks across the state.