PowerSchool Naviance $17.25M Settlement, Did You Use Naviance Between 2021–2026? Here’s How to Claim

PowerSchool Holdings LLC agreed to pay $17.25 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it secretly recorded students’ communications and online activity while they used the Naviance college planning platform — and transmitted that data to a third-party analytics company without students’ knowledge or consent. If you are a U.S. student who logged into Naviance at least once between August 18, 2021, and January 23, 2026, you may qualify for a cash payment. Parents can file on behalf of minor children. The claim deadline is May 26, 2026.

Quick Facts

Current Status and What Happens Next

• Preliminarily approved and open for claims — Judge Jorge L. Alonso of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted preliminary approval on February 26, 2026. The claim portal is now live at powerschoolnaviancesettlement.com.
• Opt-out deadline: May 11, 2026 — if you want to preserve your right to sue PowerSchool independently over these privacy claims, you must submit your exclusion request before this date.
• Final approval hearing: June 10, 2026 — if the court grants final approval, Kroll Settlement Administration will issue payments approximately 45 days after the settlement becomes final. Checks expire 180 days after issuance.

What Is the PowerSchool Naviance Lawsuit About?

Naviance is a college and career readiness platform used by millions of high school students across the U.S. to research colleges, complete career assessments, track application deadlines, and communicate with school counselors. Schools required students to use it — meaning students had no ability to opt out. The lawsuit, Q.J. v. PowerSchool Holdings LLC, et al., Case No. 1:23-cv-05689, alleged that PowerSchool and its subsidiary Hobsons Inc. secretly embedded analytics software from a company called Heap Inc. inside Naviance, which recorded students’ confidential communications and online behavior without their knowledge, disclosure, or consent.

The lawsuit also named the Board of Education of the City of Chicago (Chicago Public Schools) as a co-defendant for its role in deploying and administering Naviance for its students. Plaintiffs alleged these practices violated several federal and state privacy laws, including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), as well as Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act and other state statutes. PowerSchool and all defendants denied all allegations but agreed to settle to avoid the expense and uncertainty of continued litigation.

Who Is Eligible to File a Claim?

Eligibility is intentionally broad — covering any student who used Naviance nationwide during the class period.

• You may qualify if you are a person in the United States who, while a student, logged into the Naviance platform (offered by Hobsons and later PowerSchool Holdings) at least once between August 18, 2021, and January 23, 2026.
• You may qualify whether you were a middle school, high school, or college-bound student at the time.
• You may qualify regardless of which state, city, or school district you attended — this is a nationwide settlement, not limited to Chicago.
• Parents and legal guardians may file a claim on behalf of a minor child (under age 18) who used Naviance during the class period. If you are responsible for more than one eligible minor student, you may receive multiple notices — each with a separate student class member ID — and must file a separate claim for each eligible child.
• You do not qualify based on use of other PowerSchool products such as Schoology or SchoolMessenger — this settlement covers Naviance only.

If you received a settlement notice with a student class member ID, you are already identified as a class member. If you believe you qualify but did not receive a notice, you can still file using your school-provided Naviance email address.

How Much Will You Receive?

Each eligible class member who submits a valid claim will receive an equal pro rata share of the $17.25 million settlement fund — after deductions for attorneys’ fees, administration costs, and the service award to the class representative.

Settlement fund breakdown:

The exact payment amount will depend entirely on how many valid claims are submitted. The more students who file, the smaller each share. Given the potentially large class size, individual payments may be modest — but filing takes under 5 minutes and costs nothing. The structural relief — including data deletion requirements and new privacy protections on Naviance — is also a meaningful outcome of this settlement for all current and future students.

How to File a Claim

Step 1 — Visit the official claim portal at powerschoolnaviancesettlement.com and click the online claim form link, or download and print the PDF claim form to mail to Kroll Settlement Administration.

Step 2 — Enter your student class member ID if you received one on your settlement notice. If you did not receive a notice, you can still file using your information directly.

Step 3 — Provide the following information on the claim form: the student’s first and last name, the school-provided email address used to access Naviance, and the claimant’s contact information (your own details if you are the student, or parent/guardian details if filing for a minor).

Step 4 — Enter your current mailing address and email address. If you are a parent filing on behalf of a minor child, include both your name and the student’s information.

Step 5 — Select your preferred payment method: electronic payment via PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle (online claims only), or a paper check mailed to your address. Sign and date the attestation section, confirming under penalty of perjury that you meet the eligibility criteria.

Step 6 — Submit your claim online by May 26, 2026, or mail the completed paper form to: Q.J. v. PowerSchool Holdings LLC, c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, P.O. Box 225391, New York, NY 10150-5391. Save your claim confirmation for your records. Once your check arrives, cash it within 180 days — checks expire after that.

Estimated time to complete: Under 5 minutes online.

Important Deadlines and Dates

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a lawyer to file a claim in this settlement?

 No. You can file your claim in under five minutes at powerschoolnaviancesettlement.com — no attorney needed. Class counsel from Drury Legal, LLC represents all class members at no individual cost. Contact Kroll Settlement Administration at 833-447-8852 with any questions.

Is this PowerSchool Naviance settlement legitimate? 

Yes. The settlement, Q.J. v. PowerSchool Holdings LLC, et al., Case No. 1:23-cv-05689, is a court-supervised class action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, with preliminary approval granted by Judge Jorge L. Alonso on February 26, 2026. The official settlement website is powerschoolnaviancesettlement.com, administered by Kroll Settlement Administration LLC. Contact the administrator at 833-447-8852 to verify any communication.

When will I receive my payment?

 The final approval hearing is scheduled for June 10, 2026. If the court grants final approval and no appeals follow, Kroll will issue payments approximately 45 days after that process concludes. Cash your check within 180 days of the issue date — checks expire after that and will not be reissued.

What if I miss the May 26, 2026 claim deadline?

 If you do not file a claim by May 26, 2026, you will not receive any payment from this settlement. You will still be bound by the settlement’s release of claims against PowerSchool unless you opted out before May 11, 2026. The claim form takes under five minutes — file now rather than waiting.

Will this settlement payment affect my taxes?

 Given that individual payments are pro rata shares of a fund split among potentially millions of claimants, individual amounts may be very small. Settlement payments may technically be taxable income. Consult a tax professional if you have specific questions about reporting your payment.

Can my parent file on my behalf if I was a minor when I used Naviance? 

Yes. Parents and legal guardians may file on behalf of minor children (under age 18) who used Naviance during the class period. The parent or guardian should complete and sign the claim form on the student’s behalf and include both the student’s information and their own contact details. If you had multiple children who used Naviance, file a separate claim for each eligible child.

Is this connected to the December 2024 PowerSchool data breach affecting 62 million students?

 No — these are completely separate incidents. This Naviance settlement covers the secret embedding of Heap Inc.’s analytics tracking code inside Naviance between 2021 and 2026. The December 2024 breach involved hackers who broke into PowerSchool’s systems and stole sensitive student records. That breach is the subject of separate, still-pending litigation with no settlement yet announced.

What did PowerSchool agree to do differently as part of this settlement?

 In addition to the $17.25 million cash payment, the settlement includes important structural changes. PowerSchool must ensure that Heap Inc. and all other vendors who received student data through Naviance permanently delete that data. PowerSchool must also establish enhanced privacy disclosures for Naviance users, and Chicago Public Schools must require annual compliance certifications from all its technology vendors under applicable state and federal privacy laws.

Sources and References

1. Official Settlement Website — powerschoolnaviancesettlement.com
2. Official Claim Portal — powerschoolnaviancesettlement.com claim form
3. Settlement FAQ — powerschoolnaviancesettlement.com/faq

Students and families whose data was also exposed in larger education-sector breaches may want to check whether they are eligible for the Comcast $117.5 million data breach settlement covering 31.6 million affected customers with a claim deadline of August 14, 2026. Students whose personal loan data was exposed in the 2022 Nelnet breach should review the Nelnet $10 million data breach settlement details and eligibility requirements to understand how similar student-focused data settlements are structured.

Last Updated: March 18, 2026

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Legal claims and outcomes depend on specific facts and applicable law. For advice regarding a particular situation, consult a qualified attorney.

About the Author

Sarah Klein, JD, is a licensed attorney and legal content strategist with over 12 years of experience across civil, criminal, family, and regulatory law. At All About Lawyer, she covers a wide range of legal topics — from high-profile lawsuits and courtroom stories to state traffic laws and everyday legal questions — all with a focus on accuracy, clarity, and public understanding.
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