K12 Tech Talk Episode 240 - Block TPT? And an Interview with Joey Wender, SHLB
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Nov 14, 2025 Joey Wender, Executive Director of the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLB), brings a wealth of telecom and tech policy experience to the conversation. They dive into the Supreme Court's ruling on the Universal Service Fund, discussing the future of E-Rate funding and its transformative impact on broadband in schools. Wender addresses concerns about cybersecurity pilots and the implications of recent policy changes for district planning. They also touch on the challenges faced by schools regarding the security of platforms like Teachers Pay Teachers.
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Classroom Chaos From Linewize Outage
- Josh described a Linewize outage that first stopped blocking then blocked everything, disrupting classes and teacher plans.
- He criticized Linewize's status updates gap and noted the outage affected critical sites until early morning.
Automate Suspicious Login Responses
- Josh implemented a Google Workspace rule to suspend accounts after repeated international login denials to stop ongoing attacks.
- He recommended automating account suspension based on repeated context-aware denies to reduce response latency.
TPT Downloads Are A Widespread EDR Source
- Multiple districts reported that many EDR alerts over 12–18 months originated from files downloaded via Teachers Pay Teachers.
- Several districts chose to block TPT or remove it from approved curriculum tool lists to reduce risk and overhead.