Arkansas K-12 Email Security Intelligence:
DNS Authentication Profiling of 301 School District LEAs

Lokentra Research Team

Lokentra U.S. Email Security Index (ESI) — State Intelligence Series

April 22, 2026

research@monitorworkspace.com • monitorworkspace.com/scorecard

Abstract

We present DNS email security profiling for 301 K-12 LEAs in Arkansas, of which 297 have active domains (98.7% coverage). Domains were scored on the Lokentra 100-point Email Security Index (ESI) rubric (SPF 30 pts + DKIM 30 pts + DMARC 40 pts). Arkansas K-12 districts achieve an average ESI score of 46.9/100, with 33.7% earning Grade A or B (strong posture) and 38.7% receiving Grade F (minimal authentication). Only 49.2% have any DMARC record, and just 34.7% have DMARC at an enforcement level (quarantine or reject) — leaving 50.8% of districts fully vulnerable to email domain spoofing. This report provides entity-level data for all 297 scored domains including provider classification, authentication status, and ESI score, sourced from NCES CCD 2024-2025 and live DNS resolution conducted April 22, 2026.

Keywords: Arkansas, K-12 email security, DMARC, SPF, school district cybersecurity, DNS authentication, Google Workspace, education technology

1. Dataset Overview

Table 1. Arkansas K-12 Dataset Summary
Metric	Value
Total K-12 LEAs in state	301
Regular school districts	234
Charter LEAs	23
Other LEA types (state-operated, regional, etc.)	44
LEAs with active internet domain	297 (98.7%)
Domains DNS-profiled	297
Data freshness (NCES CCD)	2024-2025 school year
DNS scan date	April 22, 2026

2. The Human Impact: Populations at Risk

To estimate human exposure, NCES national averages are applied to CCD 2024-2025 operational school counts: 381 students per school, 51 staff per school, and 2 parents or guardians per student. Arkansas K-12 districts collectively operate approximately 1,094 schools.

Table 2. Estimated Population Exposure from K-12 Email Security Gaps — Arkansas
Population	Total in Dataset	At Risk (No DMARC, 50.8%)	Critically Exposed (Grade F, 38.7%)
Students	416,814	211,741	161,307
Parents and guardians	833,628	423,483	322,614
Staff and educators	55,794	28,343	21,592
Total people	1,306,236	663,567	505,513

Estimates based on NCES national averages. Individual district enrollment data can be linked via NCES LEAID for precise counts.

3. Authentication Findings

3.1 Protocol Adoption

Table 3. Email Authentication Protocol Adoption — Arkansas K-12
Protocol	Arkansas	National K-12 (ESI)	vs. National
SPF (any configuration)	71.0%	79.7%	-8.7pp
DKIM (key published)	51.2%	59.6%	-8.4pp
DMARC (any policy)	49.2%	55.5%	-6.3pp
DMARC at enforcement (quarantine/reject)	34.7%	~21.0%	+13.7pp
DMARC at reject (full enforcement)	6.7%	~12.2%	-5.5pp
No MX records (not receiving email)	13.5%	~10.0%	+3.5pp

3.2 ESI Grade Distribution

Table 4. ESI Score Grade Distribution — Arkansas K-12
Grade	Score	Districts	Share	Interpretation
A	90–100	31	10.4%	Full enforcement
B	70–89	69	23.2%	Strong posture
C	50–69	54	18.2%	Partial protection
D	30–49	28	9.4%	Weak configuration
F	0–29	115	38.7%	Minimal/no authentication
Average score		46.9 / 100

3.3 Email Provider Distribution

Table 5. Email Provider Distribution — Arkansas K-12 (top providers)
Provider	Districts	Share
Google Workspace	177	59.6%
Microsoft 365	31	10.4%
GoDaddy	4	1.3%
Barracuda	3	1.0%
Sophos	1	0.3%

4. District-Level Data

4.1 Top Performing Districts (Best ESI Scores)

Table 6. Top 15 Arkansas K-12 Districts by ESI Score
District	Domain	Provider	SPF	DKIM	DMARC Policy	Score	Grade
Bentonville School District	`bentonvillek12.org`	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Fouke School District	`foukepanthers.org`	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Fountain Lake School District	`flcobras.com`	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Southwest Ark. Coop	`swaec.org`	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Texarkana School District	`tasd7.net`	Microsoft 365	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Ua Rich Mountain Technical Center	`uarichmountain.edu`	Microsoft 365	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Bauxite School District	`bauxiteminers.org`	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	95	A
Gravette School District	`gravetteschools.net`	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	95	A
Ozark School District	`ozarkhillbillies.org`	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	95	A
Phillips Community College Career & Technical Center	`pccua.edu`	Microsoft 365	✓	✓	reject	95	A
Prairie Grove School District	`pgtigers.org`	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	95	A
Russellville School District	`rsdk12.net`	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	95	A
Searcy County School District	`scsd.info`	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	95	A
So. Conway Co. School District	`sccsd.org`	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	95	A
South Central Service Coop	`scscoop.org`	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	95	A

4.2 Districts Most in Need of Improvement (Lowest ESI Scores)

Table 7. Bottom 15 Arkansas K-12 Districts by ESI Score
District	Domain	Provider	SPF	DKIM	DMARC Policy	Grade
Alpena School District	`alpenaschools.k12.ar.us`	—	✗	✗	—	F
Ark. School For The Blind	`asbvi.ade.arkansas.gov`	—	✗	✗	—	F
Ark. School For The Deaf	`arschoolforthedeaf.org`	—	✗	✗	—	F
Arkansas Virtual Academy	`arva.k12.com`	—	✗	✗	—	F
Arkansas Correctional Schools	`arkcs.arkansas.gov`	—	✗	✗	—	F
Asu Beebe Regional Career Center - Searcy	`foothills.tec.ar.us`	—	✗	✗	—	F
Bearden School District	`beardenschools.org`	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
Bismarck School District	`bismarcklions.net`	—	✗	✗	—	F
Booneville School District	`booneville.k12.ar.us`	—	✗	✗	—	F
Blytheville School District	`blythevilleschools.com`	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
Brinkley School District	`brinkleyschools.com`	—	✗	✗	—	F
Cave City School District	`cavecity.k12.ar.us`	—	✗	✗	—	F
Brookland School District	`brooklandbearcats.org`	—	✗	✗	—	F
Charleston School District	`tigers.wsc.k12.ar.us`	—	✗	✗	—	F
Cleveland County School Dist.	`rison.k12.ar.us`	—	✗	✗	—	F

4.3 County-Level Summary (Top 10 Counties by District Count)

Table 8. Arkansas County Distribution
County	Districts	Website Coverage
Unknown	301	99.3%

5. Policy Implications

These findings identify specific, actionable gaps in Arkansas's K-12 email security posture. The 50.8% DMARC gap represents districts that can be impersonated by any sender, enabling phishing campaigns targeting parents, students, and educators with no authentication failure. Key observations:

Immediate risk: 115 districts (38.7%) have Grade F scores, indicating minimal or no email authentication. These represent the highest-priority remediation targets.
Mid-tier stagnation: 54 districts (18.2%) are in the C range — typically have SPF but no DMARC or weak DMARC (p=none). Upgrading to p=quarantine would move them to B without infrastructure changes.
Provider leverage: Google Workspace (used by 59.6% of scored districts) provides automated SPF/DKIM configuration. Districts on Google Workspace with Grade F scores have misconfigured or missing DMARC — a free and simple fix.

6. Data Availability

The full Arkansas K-12 dataset — 301 entities with NCES CCD enrichment (phone, address, grade span, school count, LEAID) and DNS authentication profiles — is available as part of the Lokentra ESI State Pack.

Table 9. Licensing Tiers
Tier	Scope	Suggested Use
State Pack: Arkansas	All 301 K-12 LEAs, full DNS profile + CCD enrichment	Regional studies, state policy, outreach
K-12 National	All 50 states, 20,021+ K-12 LEAs	National K-12 cybersecurity research
Full Registry	801,359+ entities across all sectors	Comprehensive multi-sector research
API + Updates	Quarterly re-scan, REST API	Longitudinal studies, live dashboards

Contact: research@monitorworkspace.com — Free demo at monitorworkspace.com/scorecard

Citation: Lokentra Research Team (2026). Arkansas K-12 Email Security Intelligence: DNS Authentication Profiling of 301 School District LEAs. Lokentra U.S. Email Security Index (ESI) — State Intelligence Series. https://lokentra-site.web.app/research/states/ar-k12-paper.html

Data sources: NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-2025; DNS records resolved via Google Public DNS (8.8.8.8) and Cloudflare (1.1.1.1). All entity data derived from publicly accessible government registries.

National baseline figures from Lokentra U.S. Education Sector Email Security Intelligence Dataset (March 2026). See education-dataset-paper.html for full methodology.

Arkansas K-12 Email Security Intelligence:DNS Authentication Profiling of 301 School District LEAs