Ohio K-12 Email Security Intelligence:
DNS Authentication Profiling of 1058 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 1058 K-12 LEAs in Ohio, of which 935 have active domains (88.4% coverage). Domains were scored on the Lokentra 100-point Email Security Index (ESI) rubric (SPF 30 pts + DKIM 30 pts + DMARC 40 pts). Ohio K-12 districts achieve an average ESI score of 43.5/100, with 21.8% earning Grade A or B (strong posture) and 36.7% receiving Grade F (minimal authentication). Only 47.2% have any DMARC record, and just 17.8% have DMARC at an enforcement level (quarantine or reject) — leaving 52.8% of districts fully vulnerable to email domain spoofing. This report provides entity-level data for all 935 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: Ohio, K-12 email security, DMARC, SPF, school district cybersecurity, DNS authentication, Google Workspace, education technology

1. Dataset Overview

Table 1. Ohio K-12 Dataset Summary
Metric	Value
Total K-12 LEAs in state	1058
Regular school districts	618
Charter LEAs	336
Other LEA types (state-operated, regional, etc.)	104
LEAs with active internet domain	935 (88.4%)
Domains DNS-profiled	935
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. Ohio K-12 districts collectively operate approximately 3,512 schools.

Table 2. Estimated Population Exposure from K-12 Email Security Gaps — Ohio
Population	Total in Dataset	At Risk (No DMARC, 52.8%)	Critically Exposed (Grade F, 36.7%)
Students	1,338,072	706,502	491,072
Parents and guardians	2,676,144	1,413,004	982,144
Staff and educators	179,112	94,571	65,734
Total people	4,193,328	2,214,077	1,538,951

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 — Ohio K-12
Protocol	Ohio	National K-12 (ESI)	vs. National
SPF (any configuration)	72.3%	79.7%	-7.4pp
DKIM (key published)	51.2%	59.6%	-8.4pp
DMARC (any policy)	47.2%	55.5%	-8.3pp
DMARC at enforcement (quarantine/reject)	17.8%	~21.0%	-3.2pp
DMARC at reject (full enforcement)	5.3%	~12.2%	-6.9pp
No MX records (not receiving email)	16.8%	~10.0%	+6.8pp

3.2 ESI Grade Distribution

Table 4. ESI Score Grade Distribution — Ohio K-12
Grade	Score	Districts	Share	Interpretation
A	90–100	66	7.1%	Full enforcement
B	70–89	138	14.8%	Strong posture
C	50–69	276	29.5%	Partial protection
D	30–49	112	12.0%	Weak configuration
F	0–29	343	36.7%	Minimal/no authentication
Average score		43.5 / 100

3.3 Email Provider Distribution

Table 5. Email Provider Distribution — Ohio K-12 (top providers)
Provider	Districts	Share
Google Workspace	565	60.4%
Microsoft 365	133	14.2%
Barracuda	14	1.5%
GoDaddy	5	0.5%
Sophos	2	0.2%
Mimecast	2	0.2%

4. District-Level Data

4.1 Top Performing Districts (Best ESI Scores)

Table 6. Top 15 Ohio K-12 Districts by ESI Score
District	Domain	County	Provider	SPF	DKIM	DMARC Policy	Score	Grade
Conneaut Area City	`cacsk12.org`	Ashtabula County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Fostoria City	`fostoriaschools.org`	Wood County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Miamisburg City	`miamisburgcityschools.org`	Montgomery County	—	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Parma City	`parmacityschools.org`	Cuyahoga County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
West Carrollton City	`westcarrolltonschools.com`	Montgomery County	—	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Westlake City	`wlake.org`	Cuyahoga County	Sophos	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Perkins Local	`perkinsschools.org`	Erie County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Walnut Township Local	`walnuttsd.org`	Fairfield County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Pettisville Local	`pettisvilleschools.org`	Fulton County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Cardinal Local	`cardinalschools.org`	Geauga County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Botkins Local	`botkins.k12.oh.us`	Shelby County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Great Oaks Career Campuses	`greatoaks.com`	Hamilton County	Barracuda	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Scioto County Joint Vocational School	`sciototech.org`	Scioto County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
College Corner Local	`uc.k12.in.us`	Preble County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Bowling Green City School District	`bgcs.k12.oh.us`	Wood County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	98	A

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

Table 7. Bottom 15 Ohio K-12 Districts by ESI Score
District	Domain	County	Provider	SPF	DKIM	DMARC Policy	Grade
Constellation Schools: Old Brooklyn Community Elementary	`oldbrooklyncommunityelementary.constellationschools.c`	Cuyahoga County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Green Inspiration Academy	`greeninspirationacademy.com`	Cuyahoga County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
Middlebury Academy	`middleburyacademy.org`	Summit County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
Edge Academy The	`new.edge4kids.org`	Summit County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Horizon Science Academy Columbus	`hs.horizoncolumbus.org`	Franklin County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Constellation Schools: Parma Community	`parmacommunity.constellationschools.com`	Cuyahoga County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Queen City Career Prep High School	`queencity.careerprepschool.org`	Hamilton County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Constellation Schools: Lorain Community Elementary	`loraincommunityelementary.constellationschools.com`	Lorain County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Constellation Schools: Elyria Community	`elyriacommunity.constellationschools.com`	Lorain County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Constellation Schools: Westpark Community Elementary	`westparkcommunityelementary.constellationschools.com`	Cuyahoga County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Dohn Community	`dohnschool.org`	Hamilton County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Hamilton Cnty Math & Science	`hcmsa.net`	Hamilton County	—	✗	✗	—	F
The Autism Academy Of Learning	`theautismacademy.org`	Lucas County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
Sciotoville	`east.k12.oh.us`	Scioto County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
Pathway School of Discovery	`pathwayschoolofdiscovery.org`	Montgomery County	—	✗	✗	—	F

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

Table 8. Ohio County Distribution
County	Districts	Website Coverage
Cuyahoga County	111	98.2%
Franklin County	103	87.4%
Hamilton County	49	98.0%
Montgomery County	43	97.7%
Lucas County	41	92.7%
Summit County	36	97.2%
Mahoning County	28	92.9%
Trumbull County	27	100.0%
Lorain County	27	92.6%
Stark County	25	96.0%

5. Policy Implications

These findings identify specific, actionable gaps in Ohio's K-12 email security posture. The 52.8% 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: 343 districts (36.7%) have Grade F scores, indicating minimal or no email authentication. These represent the highest-priority remediation targets.
Mid-tier stagnation: 276 districts (29.5%) 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 60.4% 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 Ohio K-12 dataset — 1058 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: Ohio	All 1058 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). Ohio K-12 Email Security Intelligence: DNS Authentication Profiling of 1058 School District LEAs. Lokentra U.S. Email Security Index (ESI) — State Intelligence Series. https://lokentra-site.web.app/research/states/oh-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.

Ohio K-12 Email Security Intelligence:DNS Authentication Profiling of 1058 School District LEAs