We present DNS email security profiling for 188 K-12 LEAs in South Dakota, of which 159 have active domains (84.6% coverage). Domains were scored on the Lokentra 100-point Email Security Index (ESI) rubric (SPF 30 pts + DKIM 30 pts + DMARC 40 pts). South Dakota K-12 districts achieve an average ESI score of 6.4/100, with 1.9% earning Grade A or B (strong posture) and 92.5% receiving Grade F (minimal authentication). Only 6.9% have any DMARC record, and just 1.9% have DMARC at an enforcement level (quarantine or reject) — leaving 93.1% of districts fully vulnerable to email domain spoofing. This report provides entity-level data for all 159 scored domains including provider classification, authentication status, and ESI score, sourced from NCES CCD 2024-2025 and live DNS resolution conducted April 22, 2026.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total K-12 LEAs in state | 188 |
| Regular school districts | 171 |
| Charter LEAs | 0 |
| Other LEA types (state-operated, regional, etc.) | 17 |
| LEAs with active internet domain | 159 (84.6%) |
| Domains DNS-profiled | 159 |
| Data freshness (NCES CCD) | 2024-2025 school year |
| DNS scan date | April 22, 2026 |
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. South Dakota K-12 districts collectively operate approximately 706 schools.
| Population | Total in Dataset | At Risk (No DMARC, 93.1%) | Critically Exposed (Grade F, 92.5%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students | 268,986 | 250,425 | 248,812 |
| Parents and guardians | 537,972 | 500,851 | 497,624 |
| Staff and educators | 36,006 | 33,521 | 33,305 |
| Total people | 842,964 | 784,799 | 779,741 |
Estimates based on NCES national averages. Individual district enrollment data can be linked via NCES LEAID for precise counts.
| Protocol | South Dakota | National K-12 (ESI) | vs. National |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPF (any configuration) | 17.0% | 79.7% | -62.7pp |
| DKIM (key published) | 2.5% | 59.6% | -57.1pp |
| DMARC (any policy) | 6.9% | 55.5% | -48.6pp |
| DMARC at enforcement (quarantine/reject) | 1.9% | ~21.0% | -19.1pp |
| DMARC at reject (full enforcement) | 0.0% | ~12.2% | -12.2pp |
| No MX records (not receiving email) | 87.4% | ~10.0% | +77.4pp |
| Grade | Score | Districts | Share | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 90–100 | 1 | 0.6% | Full enforcement |
| B | 70–89 | 2 | 1.3% | Strong posture |
| C | 50–69 | 2 | 1.3% | Partial protection |
| D | 30–49 | 7 | 4.4% | Weak configuration |
| F | 0–29 | 147 | 92.5% | Minimal/no authentication |
| Average score | 6.4 / 100 | |||
| Provider | Districts | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Google Workspace | 5 | 3.1% |
| Microsoft 365 | 4 | 2.5% |
| Barracuda | 1 | 0.6% |
| GoDaddy | 1 | 0.6% |
| District | Domain | County | Provider | SPF | DKIM | DMARC Policy | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
teachwell.org |
Minnehaha County | Google Workspace | ✓ | ✓ | quarantine | 95 | A | |
sdsbvi.northern.edu |
Brown County | Microsoft 365 | ✓ | ✓ | quarantine | 85 | B | |
bhssc.org |
Meade County | Microsoft 365 | ✓ | ✓ | none | 70 | B | |
southeastareacoop.org |
Union County | — | ✓ | ✓ | none | 65 | C | |
sanborncentral.com |
Sanborn County | — | ✓ | ✗ | quarantine | 60 | C | |
rcas.org |
Pennington County | — | ✓ | ✗ | none | 40 | D | |
spearfish.k12.sd.us |
Lawrence County | Barracuda | ✓ | ✗ | none | 40 | D | |
bonhomme.k12.sd.us |
Bon Homme County | — | ✓ | ✗ | none | 35 | D | |
harrisburgdistrict41-2.org |
Lincoln County | — | ✓ | ✗ | none | 35 | D | |
brandonvalleyschools.com |
Minnehaha County | — | ✓ | ✗ | — | 30 | D | |
dvschools.com |
Union County | Microsoft 365 | ✓ | ✗ | — | 30 | D | |
olcsd.com |
Oglala Lakota County | Microsoft 365 | ✓ | ✗ | — | 30 | D | |
bowdle.k12.sd.us |
Edmunds County | — | ✓ | ✗ | — | 25 | F | |
brookings.k12.sd.us |
Brookings County | — | ✓ | ✗ | — | 25 | F | |
chester.k12.sd.us |
Lake County | — | ✓ | ✗ | — | 25 | F |
| District | Domain | County | Provider | SPF | DKIM | DMARC Policy | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
howard.k12.sd.us |
Miner County | — | ✗ | ✗ | — | 0 | F | |
alcester-hudson.k12.sd.us |
Union County | — | ✗ | ✗ | — | 0 | F | |
wilmot.k12.sd.us |
Roberts County | — | ✗ | ✗ | — | 0 | F | |
ncsec.k12.sd.us |
Brown County | — | ✗ | ✗ | — | 0 | F | |
milbank.k12.sd.us |
Grant County | — | ✗ | ✗ | — | 0 | F | |
deuel.k12.sd.us |
Deuel County | Google Workspace | ✗ | ✗ | — | 0 | F | |
britton.k12.sd.us |
Marshall County | — | ✗ | ✗ | — | 0 | F | |
abo.k12.sd.us |
Sully County | — | ✗ | ✗ | — | 0 | F | |
sisseton.k12.sd.us |
Roberts County | — | ✗ | ✗ | — | 0 | F | |
teaschools.k12.sd.us |
Lincoln County | — | ✗ | ✗ | — | 0 | F | |
hitchcock-tulare.k12.sd.us |
Spink County | — | ✗ | ✗ | — | 0 | F | |
mccookcentral.k12.sd.us |
McCook County | — | ✗ | ✗ | — | 0 | F | |
selby.k12.sd.us |
Walworth County | — | ✗ | ✗ | — | 0 | F | |
grotonarea.com |
Brown County | GoDaddy | ✗ | ✗ | — | 0 | F | |
aberdeen.k12.sd.us |
Brown County | — | ✗ | ✗ | — | 0 | F |
| County | Districts | Website Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Minnehaha County | 9 | 100.0% |
| Brown County | 6 | 100.0% |
| Lake County | 6 | 50.0% |
| Oglala Lakota County | 6 | 16.7% |
| Roberts County | 5 | 80.0% |
| Union County | 5 | 100.0% |
| Turner County | 5 | 100.0% |
| Pennington County | 5 | 100.0% |
| Codington County | 5 | 100.0% |
| Charles Mix County | 5 | 80.0% |
These findings identify specific, actionable gaps in South Dakota's K-12 email security posture. The 93.1% 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:
p=none). Upgrading to p=quarantine would move them to B without infrastructure changes.The full South Dakota K-12 dataset — 188 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.
| Tier | Scope | Suggested Use |
|---|---|---|
| State Pack: South Dakota | All 188 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). South Dakota K-12 Email Security Intelligence: DNS Authentication Profiling of 188 School District LEAs. Lokentra U.S. Email Security Index (ESI) — State Intelligence Series. https://lokentra-site.web.app/research/states/sd-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.