New Jersey K-12 Email Security Intelligence:
DNS Authentication Profiling of 700 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 700 K-12 LEAs in New Jersey, of which 670 have active domains (95.7% coverage). Domains were scored on the Lokentra 100-point Email Security Index (ESI) rubric (SPF 30 pts + DKIM 30 pts + DMARC 40 pts). New Jersey K-12 districts achieve an average ESI score of 58.1/100, with 38.7% earning Grade A or B (strong posture) and 22.4% receiving Grade F (minimal authentication). Only 61.3% have any DMARC record, and just 36.9% have DMARC at an enforcement level (quarantine or reject) — leaving 38.7% of districts fully vulnerable to email domain spoofing. This report provides entity-level data for all 670 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: New Jersey, K-12 email security, DMARC, SPF, school district cybersecurity, DNS authentication, Google Workspace, education technology

1. Dataset Overview

Table 1. New Jersey K-12 Dataset Summary
Metric	Value
Total K-12 LEAs in state	700
Regular school districts	562
Charter LEAs	87
Other LEA types (state-operated, regional, etc.)	51
LEAs with active internet domain	670 (95.7%)
Domains DNS-profiled	670
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. New Jersey K-12 districts collectively operate approximately 2,550 schools.

Table 2. Estimated Population Exposure from K-12 Email Security Gaps — New Jersey
Population	Total in Dataset	At Risk (No DMARC, 38.7%)	Critically Exposed (Grade F, 22.4%)
Students	971,550	375,989	217,627
Parents and guardians	1,943,100	751,979	435,254
Staff and educators	130,050	50,329	29,131
Total people	3,044,700	1,178,298	682,012

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 — New Jersey K-12
Protocol	New Jersey	National K-12 (ESI)	vs. National
SPF (any configuration)	83.7%	79.7%	+4.0pp
DKIM (key published)	67.6%	59.6%	+8.0pp
DMARC (any policy)	61.3%	55.5%	+5.8pp
DMARC at enforcement (quarantine/reject)	36.9%	~21.0%	+15.9pp
DMARC at reject (full enforcement)	18.5%	~12.2%	+6.3pp
No MX records (not receiving email)	8.2%	~10.0%	-1.8pp

3.2 ESI Grade Distribution

Table 4. ESI Score Grade Distribution — New Jersey K-12
Grade	Score	Districts	Share	Interpretation
A	90–100	137	20.4%	Full enforcement
B	70–89	122	18.2%	Strong posture
C	50–69	201	30.0%	Partial protection
D	30–49	60	9.0%	Weak configuration
F	0–29	150	22.4%	Minimal/no authentication
Average score		58.1 / 100

3.3 Email Provider Distribution

Table 5. Email Provider Distribution — New Jersey K-12 (top providers)
Provider	Districts	Share
Google Workspace	465	69.4%
Microsoft 365	64	9.6%
Barracuda	24	3.6%
Mimecast	12	1.8%
Sophos	3	0.4%
Proofpoint	3	0.4%

4. District-Level Data

4.1 Top Performing Districts (Best ESI Scores)

Table 6. Top 15 New Jersey K-12 Districts by ESI Score
District	Domain	County	Provider	SPF	DKIM	DMARC Policy	Score	Grade
Dr Lena Edwards Academic Charter School	`drlenaedwardscharterschool.org`	Hudson County	Microsoft 365	✓	✓	reject	100	A
LEAD Charter School	`leadcharterschool.org`	Essex County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Bay Head Borough School District	`bayheadschool.org`	Ocean County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Deal Boro School District	`dealschool.org`	Monmouth County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Cumberland Regional School District	`crhsd.org`	Cumberland County	Barracuda	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Deptford Township Public School District	`deptfordschools.org`	Gloucester County	Sophos	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Downe Township School District	`downeschool.org`	Cumberland County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Dover Public School District	`dover-nj.org`	Morris County	—	✓	✓	reject	100	A
East Brunswick Township School District	`ebnet.org`	Middlesex County	Microsoft 365	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Edison Township School District	`edison.k12.nj.us`	Middlesex County	—	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Elk Township School District	`auraelementary.us`	Gloucester County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Fairfield Township School District	`fairfield.k12.nj.us`	Cumberland County	Barracuda	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Franklin Lakes School District	`franklinlakes.k12.nj.us`	Bergen County	—	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Township of Franklin School District	`franklintwpschools.org`	Gloucester County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Freehold Regional High School District	`frhsd.com`	Monmouth County	Mimecast	✓	✓	reject	100	A

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

Table 7. Bottom 15 New Jersey K-12 Districts by ESI Score
District	Domain	County	Provider	SPF	DKIM	DMARC Policy	Grade
Englewood on the Palisades Charter School	`englewoodcharterschool.com`	Bergen County	—	✗	✗	—	F
North Star Academy Charter School	`northstar.uncommonschools.org`	Essex County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Discovery Charter School	`discoverycs.org`	Essex County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
Maria L. Varisco-Rogers Charter School	`mlvrcs.org`	Essex County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
Hoboken Charter School	`hobokencs.org`	Hudson County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
Jersey City Community Charter School	`jcccsonline.org`	Hudson County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
The Ethical Community Charter School School Distirct	`teccs-jc.org`	Hudson County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Vineland Public Charter School	`vinelandpubliccharterschool.org`	Cumberland County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Hatikvah International Academy Charter School	`hatikvahcharterschool.com`	Middlesex County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Benjamin Banneker Preparatory Charter School	`bannekerprep.com`	Burlington County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Millville Public Charter School	`millvillepubliccharterschool.org`	Cumberland County	—	✗	✗	—	F
John P Holland Charter School School District	`jphcs.org`	Passaic County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
Compass Academy Charter School	`compassacademycharter.org`	Cumberland County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Hope Community Charter School	`hopecommunitycharterschool.org`	Camden County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
Camden Prep Inc.	`camdenprep.uncommonschools.org`	Camden County	—	✗	✗	—	F

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

Table 8. New Jersey County Distribution
County	Districts	Website Coverage
Bergen County	81	98.8%
Monmouth County	61	100.0%
Camden County	49	93.9%
Essex County	44	90.9%
Burlington County	44	97.7%
Morris County	42	97.6%
Ocean County	31	96.8%
Middlesex County	30	96.7%
Atlantic County	29	96.6%
Passaic County	29	100.0%

5. Policy Implications

These findings identify specific, actionable gaps in New Jersey's K-12 email security posture. The 38.7% 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: 150 districts (22.4%) have Grade F scores, indicating minimal or no email authentication. These represent the highest-priority remediation targets.
Mid-tier stagnation: 201 districts (30.0%) 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 69.4% 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 New Jersey K-12 dataset — 700 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: New Jersey	All 700 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). New Jersey K-12 Email Security Intelligence: DNS Authentication Profiling of 700 School District LEAs. Lokentra U.S. Email Security Index (ESI) — State Intelligence Series. https://lokentra-site.web.app/research/states/nj-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.

New Jersey K-12 Email Security Intelligence:DNS Authentication Profiling of 700 School District LEAs