TX K-12 Cybersecurity Initiative Updates

Overview

To counter the rising surge of ransomware and malicious activity affecting local educational agencies (LEAs) around the state, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) is launching the TX K-12 Cybersecurity Initiative, funded by the Texas Legislature between September 1, 2023, and August 31, 2025. Thank you to all the LEAs that have taken action to prepare for the launch of this program and completed an inter-local agreement with the Department of Information Resources (DIR).  

Services Available for Request

LEAs who are interested and eligible to acquire TEA-funded Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) may now request this service via the Service Now portal. Login information is provided to each LEA after signing an inter-local agreement with DIR. Based on current adoption rates, LEAs with enrollment of 15,000 or less may now request a license count of up to 20% of student enrollment based on 2022-2023 PEIMS Fall submission data that is currently in AskTED. 

• Instructions for requesting EDR 
• Frequently Asked Questions 

Upcoming Services 

• Technical assistance provided by regional education service centers (ESCs) is planned but will not be available until grant funding is established. LEAs that will require technical assistance from the ESCs for in-scope projects of the K-12 Cybersecurity Initiative, including EDR implementation, will need to wait until further communication from ESCs and TEA on technical assistance availability.  
• Cybersecurity Assessments – TEA and DIR are finalizing criteria and will communicate in the fall of 2023 with details for requesting this service. 
• Network Detection Response – More details to come. 

Additional Supports and Questions  

For future announcements of service availability please stay tuned to Cybersecurity Coordinator Forum Webinars and K-12 Cybersecurity Initiative site.

Please email questions to cybersecurity@tea.texas.gov or DIRSecurity@dir.texas.gov.