Essential Checklists for a Secure and Successful School Year

Summary

• Verify student, teacher, and class rostering before school starts.
• Strengthen account security with multi-factor authentication (MFA).
• Review application integrations and user access permissions.
• Train staff to recognize phishing attempts and security threats.

Teachers aren’t the only school staff preparing for back-to-school time. Ensuring technology systems are secure and ready for students and staff is just as important as classroom preparation. A proactive review of identity, access, and application security can help reduce disruptions, improve user experiences, and strengthen overall cybersecurity readiness.

To help schools get started, GoGuardian has created a back-to-school readiness safety and security essentials checklist that outlines key actions every district should complete before day one.

The checklist covers critical readiness tasks, including:

• Reviewing and updating student, teacher, and class rostering data.
• Validating integrations across instructional and administrative applications.
• Enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) for staff and administrators.
• Conducting access reviews to ensure only authorized users have elevated privileges.
• Testing login workflows with a pilot group of teachers and students.
• Providing phishing awareness training to help staff identify and report threats.

The checklist also highlights several security best practices, such as reviewing third-party application permissions, rotating credentials when necessary, maintaining emergency support contacts, and participating in cybersecurity information-sharing organizations focused on K–12 education.

Completing these steps can help create a more secure, efficient, and well-prepared learning environment for the year ahead.

Download the Back-to-School Readiness Safety and Security Essentials Checklist to ensure your district is ready for a successful start to the school year.

For more helpful checklists, see these back-to-school product guides:

GoGuardian Admin

GoGuardian Teacher

GoGuardian Beacon

GoGuardian Hall Pass

GoGuardian Discover

Org Management