Massachusetts K-12 Email Security Intelligence:
DNS Authentication Profiling of 428 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 428 K-12 LEAs in Massachusetts, of which 379 have active domains (88.6% coverage). Domains were scored on the Lokentra 100-point Email Security Index (ESI) rubric (SPF 30 pts + DKIM 30 pts + DMARC 40 pts). Massachusetts K-12 districts achieve an average ESI score of 58.0/100, with 35.6% earning Grade A or B (strong posture) and 20.3% receiving Grade F (minimal authentication). Only 67.5% have any DMARC record, and just 34.3% have DMARC at an enforcement level (quarantine or reject) — leaving 32.5% of districts fully vulnerable to email domain spoofing. This report provides entity-level data for all 379 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: Massachusetts, K-12 email security, DMARC, SPF, school district cybersecurity, DNS authentication, Google Workspace, education technology

1. Dataset Overview

Table 1. Massachusetts K-12 Dataset Summary
MetricValue
Total K-12 LEAs in state428
Regular school districts323
Charter LEAs79
Other LEA types (state-operated, regional, etc.)26
LEAs with active internet domain379 (88.6%)
Domains DNS-profiled379
Data freshness (NCES CCD)2024-2025 school year
DNS scan dateApril 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. Massachusetts K-12 districts collectively operate approximately 1,823 schools.

Table 2. Estimated Population Exposure from K-12 Email Security Gaps — Massachusetts
PopulationTotal in DatasetAt Risk (No DMARC, 32.5%)Critically Exposed (Grade F, 20.3%)
Students694,563225,732140,996
Parents and guardians1,389,126451,465281,992
Staff and educators92,97330,21618,873
Total people2,176,662707,415441,862

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 — Massachusetts K-12
ProtocolMassachusettsNational K-12 (ESI)vs. National
SPF (any configuration)83.4%79.7%+3.7pp
DKIM (key published)68.1%59.6%+8.5pp
DMARC (any policy)67.5%55.5%+12.0pp
DMARC at enforcement (quarantine/reject)34.3%~21.0%+13.3pp
DMARC at reject (full enforcement)15.6%~12.2%+3.4pp
No MX records (not receiving email)7.1%~10.0%-2.9pp

3.2 ESI Grade Distribution

Table 4. ESI Score Grade Distribution — Massachusetts K-12
GradeScoreDistrictsShareInterpretation
A90–1007018.5%Full enforcement
B70–896517.2%Strong posture
C50–6912332.5%Partial protection
D30–494411.6%Weak configuration
F0–297720.3%Minimal/no authentication
Average score58.0 / 100

3.3 Email Provider Distribution

Table 5. Email Provider Distribution — Massachusetts K-12 (top providers)
ProviderDistrictsShare
Google Workspace27171.5%
Microsoft 365328.4%
Barracuda164.2%
Mimecast51.3%
GoDaddy30.8%
Proofpoint20.5%

4. District-Level Data

4.1 Top Performing Districts (Best ESI Scores)

Table 6. Top 15 Massachusetts K-12 Districts by ESI Score
DistrictDomainCountyProviderSPFDKIMDMARC PolicyScoreGrade
Prospect Hill Academy Charter (District) phacs.org Middlesex County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
Arlington arlington.k12.ma.us Middlesex County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
Berkshire Hills bhrsd.org Berkshire County — ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
Billerica billericak12.com Middlesex County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
Brookline brookline.k12.ma.us Norfolk County Mimecast ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
Gloucester gloucesterschools.com Essex County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
Georgetown georgetown.k12.ma.us Essex County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
Hudson hudson.k12.ma.us Middlesex County Barracuda ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
Leominster leominsterps.org Worcester County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
Lawrence lawrence.k12.ma.us Essex County Microsoft 365 ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
Narragansett nrsd.org Worcester County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
Peabody peabody.k12.ma.us Essex County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
Norton norton.k12.ma.us Bristol County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
Saugus saugus.k12.ma.us Essex County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
South Hadley southhadleyschools.org Hampshire County — ✓ ✓ reject 100 A

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

Table 7. Bottom 15 Massachusetts K-12 Districts by ESI Score
DistrictDomainCountyProviderSPFDKIMDMARC PolicyScoreGrade
Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter (District) cclighthouseschool.org Barnstable County Google Workspace ✗ ✗ — 0 F
Boston Renaissance Charter Public (District) bostonrenaissance.org Suffolk County — ✗ ✗ — 0 F
Sturgis Charter Public (District) sturgischarterschool.com Barnstable County GoDaddy ✗ ✗ — 0 F
Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers (Horace Mann Ch kennedyacademy.org Suffolk County — ✗ ✗ — 0 F
MATCH Charter Public School (District) matchschool.org Suffolk County Google Workspace ✗ ✗ — 0 F
Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School District essexnorthshore.org Essex County — ✗ ✗ — 0 F
New Heights Charter School of Brockton (District) newheightscharterschool.com Plymouth County — ✗ ✗ — 0 F
Keystone Educational Collaborative fllac.org Middlesex County — ✗ ✗ — 0 F
North River Collaborative northrivercollaborative.org Plymouth County — ✗ ✗ — 0 F
Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School (District) osacps.org Worcester County Google Workspace ✗ ✗ — 0 F
Amesbury schools.amesburyma.gov Essex County — ✗ ✗ — 0 F
Barnstable barnstable.k12.ma.us Barnstable County Google Workspace ✗ ✗ — 0 F
Burlington burlingtonpublicschools.org Middlesex County — ✗ ✗ — 0 F
Concord concordpublicschools.net Middlesex County — ✗ ✗ — 0 F
Everett everettpublicschools.org Middlesex County — ✗ ✗ — 0 F

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

Table 8. Massachusetts County Distribution
CountyDistrictsWebsite Coverage
Middlesex County7697.4%
Worcester County59100.0%
Essex County4593.3%
Norfolk County39100.0%
Plymouth County3897.4%
Bristol County30100.0%
Suffolk County2796.3%
Hampden County2696.2%
Hampshire County23100.0%
Franklin County21100.0%

5. Policy Implications

These findings identify specific, actionable gaps in Massachusetts's K-12 email security posture. The 32.5% 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:

6. Data Availability

The full Massachusetts K-12 dataset — 428 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
TierScopeSuggested Use
State Pack: MassachusettsAll 428 K-12 LEAs, full DNS profile + CCD enrichmentRegional studies, state policy, outreach
K-12 NationalAll 50 states, 20,021+ K-12 LEAsNational K-12 cybersecurity research
Full Registry801,359+ entities across all sectorsComprehensive multi-sector research
API + UpdatesQuarterly re-scan, REST APILongitudinal studies, live dashboards

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

Citation: Lokentra Research Team (2026). Massachusetts K-12 Email Security Intelligence: DNS Authentication Profiling of 428 School District LEAs. Lokentra U.S. Email Security Index (ESI) — State Intelligence Series. https://lokentra-site.web.app/research/states/ma-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.