Indiana K-12 Email Security Intelligence:
DNS Authentication Profiling of 444 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 444 K-12 LEAs in Indiana, of which 376 have active domains (84.7% coverage). Domains were scored on the Lokentra 100-point Email Security Index (ESI) rubric (SPF 30 pts + DKIM 30 pts + DMARC 40 pts). Indiana K-12 districts achieve an average ESI score of 57.1/100, with 36.2% earning Grade A or B (strong posture) and 22.1% receiving Grade F (minimal authentication). Only 63.0% have any DMARC record, and just 36.2% have DMARC at an enforcement level (quarantine or reject) — leaving 37.0% of districts fully vulnerable to email domain spoofing. This report provides entity-level data for all 376 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: Indiana, K-12 email security, DMARC, SPF, school district cybersecurity, DNS authentication, Google Workspace, education technology

1. Dataset Overview

Table 1. Indiana K-12 Dataset Summary
Metric	Value
Total K-12 LEAs in state	444
Regular school districts	291
Charter LEAs	120
Other LEA types (state-operated, regional, etc.)	33
LEAs with active internet domain	376 (84.7%)
Domains DNS-profiled	376
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. Indiana K-12 districts collectively operate approximately 1,901 schools.

Table 2. Estimated Population Exposure from K-12 Email Security Gaps — Indiana
Population	Total in Dataset	At Risk (No DMARC, 37.0%)	Critically Exposed (Grade F, 22.1%)
Students	724,281	267,983	160,066
Parents and guardians	1,448,562	535,967	320,132
Staff and educators	96,951	35,871	21,426
Total people	2,269,794	839,823	501,624

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 — Indiana K-12
Protocol	Indiana	National K-12 (ESI)	vs. National
SPF (any configuration)	85.4%	79.7%	+5.7pp
DKIM (key published)	62.8%	59.6%	+3.2pp
DMARC (any policy)	63.0%	55.5%	+7.5pp
DMARC at enforcement (quarantine/reject)	36.2%	~21.0%	+15.2pp
DMARC at reject (full enforcement)	19.4%	~12.2%	+7.2pp
No MX records (not receiving email)	7.4%	~10.0%	-2.6pp

3.2 ESI Grade Distribution

Table 4. ESI Score Grade Distribution — Indiana K-12
Grade	Score	Districts	Share	Interpretation
A	90–100	73	19.4%	Full enforcement
B	70–89	63	16.8%	Strong posture
C	50–69	106	28.2%	Partial protection
D	30–49	51	13.6%	Weak configuration
F	0–29	83	22.1%	Minimal/no authentication
Average score		57.1 / 100

3.3 Email Provider Distribution

Table 5. Email Provider Distribution — Indiana K-12 (top providers)
Provider	Districts	Share
Google Workspace	250	66.5%
Microsoft 365	55	14.6%
Barracuda	10	2.7%
Mimecast	4	1.1%
GoDaddy	4	1.1%
Proofpoint	2	0.5%

4. District-Level Data

4.1 Top Performing Districts (Best ESI Scores)

Table 6. Top 15 Indiana K-12 Districts by ESI Score
District	Domain	County	Provider	SPF	DKIM	DMARC Policy	Score	Grade
IN Sch for the Blind & Vis Imprd	`isbvik12.org`	Marion County	Microsoft 365	✓	✓	reject	100	A
East Central Education Service Ctr	`ecesc.k12.in.us`	Fayette County	Microsoft 365	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Bartholomew Con School Corp	`bcscschools.org`	Bartholomew County	—	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Beech Grove City Schools	`bgcs.k12.in.us`	Marion County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Bloomfield School District	`bsd.k12.in.us`	Greene County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Bremen Public Schools	`bps.k12.in.us`	Marshall County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Clay Community Schools	`clay.k12.in.us`	Clay County	Barracuda	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Brownstown Cnt Com Sch Corp	`btownccs.k12.in.us`	Jackson County	—	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Carmel Clay Schools	`ccs.k12.in.us`	Hamilton County	—	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Clark-Pleasant Community Sch Corp	`cpcsc.k12.in.us`	Johnson County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Cloverdale Community Schools	`cloverdale.k12.in.us`	Putnam County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
East Noble School Corporation	`eastnoble.net`	Noble County	Microsoft 365	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Eastern Hancock Co Com Sch Corp	`easternhancock.org`	Hancock County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Elwood Community School Corp	`elwood.k12.in.us`	Madison County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Lawrenceburg Community School Corp	`lburg.k12.in.us`	Dearborn County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A

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

Table 7. Bottom 15 Indiana K-12 Districts by ESI Score
District	Domain	County	Provider	SPF	DKIM	DMARC Policy	Grade
Blue River Career Programs	`brcp.net`	Shelby County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
Options Charter Schools	`optionsschools.org`	Hamilton County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
Lost River Career Cooperative	`lostrivercareercoop.com`	Orange County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Joshua Academy	`joshuaacademyschools.com`	Vanderburgh County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Victory College Prep Academy	`victorycollegeprep.org`	Marion County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
East Chicago Urban Enterprise Academy	`ecuea.com`	Lake County	GoDaddy	✗	✗	—	F
Geist Montessori Academy	`gmacademy.org`	Hancock County	GoDaddy	✗	✗	—	F
Rock Creek Community Academy	`rccasi.net`	Clark County	—	✗	✗	—	F
IN Math & Science Academy - North	`north.imsaindy.org`	Marion County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Alexandria Community School Corp	`alexandriacsc.alex.k12.in.us`	Madison County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Southside Sp Srvs Of Marion Co	`sssmc.org`	Marion County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
Christel House DORS	`chdors.org`	Marion County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Canaan Community Academy	`canaancommunityacademy.com`	Jefferson County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
Ripley-Ohio-Dearborn Sp Ed Coop	`rodspecialeducation.org`	Ripley County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Enlace Academy	`enlaceacademy.org`	Marion County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F

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

Table 8. Indiana County Distribution
County	Districts	Website Coverage
Marion County	86	70.9%
Lake County	28	92.9%
St. Joseph County	12	75.0%
Delaware County	11	100.0%
Porter County	10	100.0%
Hamilton County	9	88.9%
Allen County	8	87.5%
Elkhart County	8	87.5%
Johnson County	8	87.5%
Putnam County	7	85.7%

5. Policy Implications

These findings identify specific, actionable gaps in Indiana's K-12 email security posture. The 37.0% 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: 83 districts (22.1%) have Grade F scores, indicating minimal or no email authentication. These represent the highest-priority remediation targets.
Mid-tier stagnation: 106 districts (28.2%) 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 66.5% 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 Indiana K-12 dataset — 444 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: Indiana	All 444 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). Indiana K-12 Email Security Intelligence: DNS Authentication Profiling of 444 School District LEAs. Lokentra U.S. Email Security Index (ESI) — State Intelligence Series. https://lokentra-site.web.app/research/states/in-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.

Indiana K-12 Email Security Intelligence:DNS Authentication Profiling of 444 School District LEAs