A cyber incident forced Springfield Public Schools to close its 64 schools Tuesday, disrupting instruction for more than 23,000 students across Springfield, Massachusetts.
The district also canceled after-school activities and told staff and students to avoid its network and district-issued laptops while officials investigate and restore systems.
Superintendent Sonia Dinnall announced the closure Monday in a statement published by the City of Springfield. She said the incident’s exact scope and size remained under investigation.
Dinnall said the closure would give district officials time to address the incident. “The most important consideration will always be the health and safety of those inside our school buildings,” she said.
In a Facebook post at 7:19 a.m. Sept. 3, the district said phone lines at its administrative headquarters were offline. The notice came four days before the district publicly identified a cyber incident, but officials have not said whether the events were related.
The administrative headquarters will remain open Tuesday, though phone and other services could be affected. Administrators were preparing backup procedures for technology-dependent functions, including attendance reporting.
Springfield Public Schools is Massachusetts’ third-largest public school district by enrollment, behind Boston and Worcester. It serves 23,574 students in prekindergarten through grade 12 across 64 schools, according to state data for 2025-26.
Chip in once
If this reporting helped you, a one-time tip helps cover hosting, tools and future investigations.
Support us monthly
A small monthly pledge keeps independent coverage and our reader tools online for everyone.
The district has not publicly identified the initial access method, malware or specific systems involved. It also has not said whether ransomware or extortion was involved or whether student or employee information was accessed or copied.
Other Massachusetts school systems have faced operational disruptions from cyber incidents. An August cyberattack in Andover caused a four-day outage across a network shared by the town and school district, delaying teacher assignments. An April 2025 attack in Fall River disrupted internet access, Chromebook use, attendance calls and state testing.
As of Monday evening, Springfield Public Schools had not announced when schools would reopen or when normal technology access would resume. The investigation and restoration work remained underway.
Springfield Public Schools did not respond to questions before publication. DysruptionHub will update this article if the district provides additional information.
