Naviance Lawsuit and PowerSchool Lawsuit: Two Cases, One Company
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PowerSchool faces two separate cases. The Naviance settlement ($17.25 million, tracking of student activity) received final approval on August 19, 2026, and its claim window closed July 27, 2026. The PowerSchool data breach (December 2024) is a different case in a different court: an active MDL with no settlement, no fund and no claim form.
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Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
What Each Lawsuit Says Happened
Naviance lawsuit. Naviance is the college-and-career platform many US schools use. The complaint, Q.J. v. PowerSchool Holdings LLC, et al., alleges the defendants unlawfully intercepted students’ confidential communications while they used it, in violation of federal and state privacy laws. The defendants deny wrongdoing.
PowerSchool data breach. PowerSchool says it discovered on December 28, 2024 an unauthorized exfiltration of personal information from its Student Information System environments. The data may include names, contact details, dates of birth, limited medical alerts and Social Security numbers. PowerSchool says it has no evidence that credit card or banking information was involved, and has acknowledged paying a ransom to prevent public release.
Case Details
Naviance: Case No. 1:23-cv-05689, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Judge Jorge L. Alonso. The defendants are PowerSchool Holdings LLC, Hobsons Inc., Heap Inc. and the Board of Education of the City of Chicago.
Data breach: In re PowerSchool Holdings, Inc. and PowerSchool Group, LLC Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL No. 3149, No. 3:25-md-03149-AJB-MSB, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Judge Roger T. Benitez handled it until April 1, 2026, when the case was reassigned to Judge Anthony J. Battaglia. Bain Capital, L.P. and Movate, Inc. are also listed as defendants on the docket.
Status as of September 30, 2026
PowerSchool data breach MDL: active, no settlement. On March 17–18, 2026, the court granted in part and denied in part the motions to dismiss, including Bain Capital’s, so parts of the case go forward. Since April 1, 2026 the case has been before Judge Anthony J. Battaglia. As of September 30, 2026, we found no settlement, no fund and no claim form for the PowerSchool data breach. Anything called a “PowerSchool settlement” claim for the breach is not this case; the only PowerSchool settlement with a claim form was the Naviance one.
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Who Is Covered
Naviance settlement: students residing in the United States who logged into Naviance at least once between August 18, 2021 and January 23, 2026. News reports estimate the class at more than 10 million students. Only people who filed a valid claim by July 27, 2026 are in line for payment.
Data breach MDL: students, parents and teachers whose data was held in PowerSchool’s systems. PowerSchool did not publish a precise count. Law firms describe more than 60 million users (Labaton) or more than 50 million students and educators (Hausfeld), so treat any single figure as an estimate. You do not sign up for the MDL; if a settlement is ever reached, notice goes out through the court.
What Gets Paid, and When
Data breach: no settlement, no fund, no claim form. The free offer of two years of identity protection and credit monitoring (Experian and TransUnion) closed to new enrollments on July 31, 2025.
PowerSchool and Naviance Timeline
- 1
August 18, 2023 — Naviance Complaint Filed
Q.J. v. PowerSchool Holdings LLC is filed in the Northern District of Illinois (No. 1:23-cv-05689).
- 2
December 28, 2024 — Breach Discovered
PowerSchool discovers unauthorized exfiltration from its Student Information System environments. Over fifty class actions follow and are consolidated as MDL No. 3149.
- 3
February 2026 — Naviance Preliminary Approval
Judge Alonso preliminarily approves the $17.25 million settlement on February 25, 2026, and an amended version of the agreement on March 26, 2026.
- 4
March 17–18, 2026 — Motions to Dismiss Granted in Part, Denied in Part
In the breach MDL, the court grants in part and denies in part the motions to dismiss, including Bain Capital’s, so parts of the case go forward.
- 5
July 2026 — Naviance Deadlines
Opt-out deadline July 13, 2026; claim deadline July 27, 2026.
- 6
August 19, 2026 — Naviance Final Approval
The court grants final approval. The breach MDL continues with no settlement.
Three Things to Watch For
Two big student-data cases and a closed claim window are an opening for imposters:
“Claim your Naviance payment” fees
A real settlement payment never requires a fee, and the claim window closed July 27, 2026. Anyone offering to “reopen” it for money is not the administrator. Use only the official settlement site.
A fake “PowerSchool breach settlement”
There is no claim form for the PowerSchool data breach. A site asking for your Social Security number to “secure your share” is collecting data, not filing a claim.
Identity-theft follow-up calls
After a breach involving Social Security numbers, callers may claim to be from your school or PowerSchool and ask you to “verify” details. Hang up and contact your school district directly. See our data breach settlement calculator for realistic ranges.
PowerSchool and Naviance Lawsuits — Questions People Actually Ask
Is there a Naviance lawsuit settlement?
Yes. The Naviance settlement is $17.25 million in Q.J. v. PowerSchool Holdings LLC. The court granted final approval on August 19, 2026, and the claim deadline was July 27, 2026.
Who was eligible for the Naviance settlement?
Students residing in the US who logged into Naviance at least once between August 18, 2021 and January 23, 2026. News reports estimate over 10 million people.
How much will the Naviance settlement pay?
Not yet known. Valid claimants share the fund equally after attorneys’ fees (up to $6,382,500 requested), notice and administration costs and a service award are paid. No per-person amount has been published.
When will Naviance settlement payments arrive?
The official settlement website says 45 days after final approval and/or after any appeals process is complete. Final approval came on August 19, 2026; an appeal would delay payment. Watch the official site for the announced date.
I missed the July 27, 2026 deadline. What can I do?
We found no source describing a late-claim process. Check the official settlement website or contact the administrator, Kroll. Unless you opted out by July 13, 2026, the settlement generally applies to you either way.
Is there a PowerSchool settlement for the data breach?
No. As of September 30, 2026, the PowerSchool data breach is an active MDL (No. 3149) with no settlement, fund or claim form. The only PowerSchool settlement with a claim form was for Naviance.
What is the status of the PowerSchool lawsuit over the data breach?
In MDL 3149, Judge Roger T. Benitez granted in part and denied in part the motions to dismiss on March 17–18, 2026, including Bain Capital’s, so parts of the case go forward. The case was reassigned to Judge Anthony J. Battaglia on April 1, 2026. As of September 30, 2026, it is in pretrial proceedings with no settlement; further dismissal motions were briefed in August and September 2026.
How many people were affected by the PowerSchool data breach?
PowerSchool has not published a precise number. Labaton describes over 60 million users and Hausfeld over 50 million students and educators. Check your school district’s notice for your own record.
Separate from this case: were you injured in the last 2 years?
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