What Is the Naviance Lawsuit?
The Naviance lawsuit is a federal class action alleging that third-party tracking tools intercepted students' communications on the Naviance college and career planning platform without consent. It is captioned Q.J. v. PowerSchool Holdings LLC, et al., Case No. 1:23-cv-05689, and is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois before Judge Jorge L. Alonso.
A student identified only as Q.J. filed the case on August 18, 2023. The defendants are PowerSchool Holdings LLC, Hobsons, Inc., Heap Inc., and the Board of Education of the City of Chicago.
The Naviance lawsuit is a class action, not a multidistrict litigation. It is also a different case from the PowerSchool data breach litigation, which is described in the related cases section below.
“On August 18, 2023, Plaintiff filed this putative class action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Defendants, as well as various unnamed employees and officers of PowerSchool Holdings, Hobsons and Heap (the "Doe Defendants"). "Settlement Class" means all persons in the United States who, while a student, logged into the product offered by Hobsons and, later, PowerSchool Holdings, that is commonly referred to as Naviance (the "Naviance Platform"), at least once during the period beginning on August 18, 2021 and continuing through January 23, 2026 (the "Class Period").”
Source: Source: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Q.J. v. PowerSchool Holdings LLC, et al., No. 1:23-cv-05689, Class Action Settlement Agreement, Recital A and Section 1.41, Dkt. 212-1 (filed February 23, 2026)
Why Are People Filing Naviance Lawsuits?
People are filing Naviance lawsuits because plaintiffs allege third-party analytics and advertising software embedded in the Naviance platform captured students' confidential communications without student or parental consent.
The complaint says PowerSchool and Hobsons aided Heap and other third parties in intercepting what students typed and clicked while using Naviance. Reports on the case name Google and Microsoft tools as part of the same alleged tracking.
The first amended complaint pleaded claims under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the California Invasion of Privacy Act, the Illinois Eavesdropping Act, the Stored Communications Act, and the Illinois School Student Records Act. It also pleaded intrusion upon seclusion, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment.
The defendants deny every allegation. Their settlement papers say they settled to avoid the cost and uncertainty of litigation, and the agreement states it is not an admission of liability.
What Injuries Are Included in the Naviance Lawsuit?
The injuries included in the Naviance lawsuit are privacy harms, not physical injuries or a data breach. The complaint groups them into the three categories below, and the defendants deny that any of them occurred.
Interception of Student Communications
Interception is the capture of an electronic communication while it is being sent, without the consent of the people involved.
Plaintiffs allege tracking code sent what students entered into Naviance to outside companies as they used the platform. The wiretapping claims under federal and state law rest on this theory. No court ruled on whether it is correct, because the case settled.
Disclosure of Education Records
Education records are files and data a school keeps about a student, and several federal and state laws limit who may receive them.
Plaintiffs allege the tracking exposed information protected by the Illinois School Student Records Act. They say it included names, student identification numbers, graduation years, and survey responses, according to a student privacy advocacy group's summary of the complaint.
Loss of Privacy and Unjust Enrichment
Intrusion upon seclusion is a legal claim for an unwelcome intrusion into a person's private affairs, and unjust enrichment is a claim that a company profited at another's expense.
Plaintiffs allege the companies gained value from student data that students and families never agreed to share. They pleaded these two common law claims alongside the statutory ones.
Who Qualifies for the Naviance Lawsuit?
You may qualify if:
- You are a person in the United States who logged into the Naviance platform at least once while a student
- Your login happened between August 18, 2021 and January 23, 2026
- You are a parent or legal guardian filing for a qualifying student who was a minor
You may not qualify if:
- You never logged into Naviance during the class period
- You are one of the defendants, their officers or employees, or the judges on the case
- You validly and timely excluded yourself from the settlement class
The claims deadline of July 27, 2026 has already passed. This summary reflects the settlement class definition for reference, and only the settlement administrator's records can confirm whether a specific person was a class member or filed a timely claim.
What Is the Current Status of the Naviance Lawsuit?
The current status of the Naviance lawsuit is settled, with the claims window closed and final approval reported. The court's own final order was not independently read for this page, so the approval date rests on claim-tracking sources.
Q.J. v. PowerSchool Holdings LLC, No. 1:23-cv-05689
Judge Jorge L. Alonso presides, with Magistrate Judge Daniel P. McLaughlin. The court preliminarily approved the settlement in late February 2026, and Settlement Insight reports an amended agreement received preliminary approval on March 26, 2026.
The final approval hearing was set for August 19, 2026. Claim Depot and Settlement Insight both report the court granted final approval that day.
Early notices listed a May 2026 claims date. The administrator later extended the claims deadline to July 27, 2026, with opt-outs and objections due July 13, 2026.
| Proceeding Type | Federal class action (not an MDL) |
| Court | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois |
| Judge | Jorge L. Alonso |
| Complaint Filed | August 18, 2023 |
| Defendants | PowerSchool Holdings LLC, Hobsons, Inc., Heap Inc. (now Content Square, Inc.), Board of Education of the City of Chicago |
| Settlement Fund | $17,250,000 |
| Settlement Administrator | Kroll Settlement Administration LLC |
| Settlement Status | Claims closed July 27, 2026; final approval reported August 19, 2026 |
What Is the Naviance Class Action Lawsuit Payout Per Person?
The Naviance class action lawsuit payout per person has not been announced, because each valid claim receives an equal share of what remains in the $17.25 million fund and the share depends on the number of claims filed.
No per-person cap or fixed amount exists in the agreement. A student privacy group reported an early attorney estimate of about $50 per student, but that figure is a preliminary projection, not a promised amount. Only the administrator can confirm what a specific claim will pay.
The fund is non-reversionary, so money does not return to the defendants. It pays approved claims, notice and administration costs, attorneys' fees, expenses, and a service award of up to $5,000 for the class representative.
Class counsel agreed to ask for no more than 37 percent of the fund after administration expenses, litigation expenses, and any service award are deducted. Claim trackers put that ceiling at about $6.38 million, and the court may award less.
Payments go out after final approval and any appeals are resolved, by check or by PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle for online claims. Sources disagree on timing, quoting both 45 and about 85 days, and checks expire 180 days after issuance.
The settlement also requires business changes. PowerSchool must create a web governance committee and avoid listed third-party tracking tools in Naviance for two years unless that committee finds their use lawful. The Chicago Board of Education agreed to contract changes for vendors that handle student data.
Naviance Lawsuit Updates and Case Status
Here is the current status of the Naviance lawsuit, updated with new filings, rulings, and case-count reports as they're confirmed. As of October 2026, the Naviance student privacy class action, Q.J. v. PowerSchool Holdings LLC, No. 1:23-cv-05689 reached a settlement, described in the timeline below. See the full timeline below for every confirmed development since the litigation began.
Naviance Lawsuit Timeline
Final Approval Hearing and Reported Final Approval
Claim Depot and Settlement Insight report that Judge Jorge L. Alonso granted final approval to the $17.25 million Naviance class settlement at the August 19, 2026 hearing in Chicago. This page could not read the court's order itself.
Naviance Settlement Claims Deadline Passes
The deadline to file a claim in the Q.J. v. PowerSchool Holdings settlement passed on July 27, 2026. The administrator had extended it from an earlier May date, and no late-claim process has been reported.
Opt-Out and Objection Deadline
Naviance settlement class members had until July 13, 2026 to exclude themselves or object to the $17.25 million class settlement. Anyone who did not opt out is bound by the release of claims.
Amended Settlement Agreement Receives Preliminary Approval
Settlement Insight reports Judge Alonso preliminarily approved an amended version of the Naviance settlement agreement on March 26, 2026. The $17.25 million fund was unchanged.
Court Preliminarily Approves the Naviance Settlement
Bloomberg Law reported on February 26, 2026 that Judge Alonso preliminarily approved the $17.25 million settlement and certified the class for settlement purposes. The settlement class covers an estimated 10 million or more students.
Settlement Agreement Filed With the Court
The parties filed the 74-page Class Action Settlement Agreement in Q.J. v. PowerSchool Holdings as Docket 212-1 on February 23, 2026. It sets a $17,250,000 fund and the Naviance class period.
Parties Sign a Settlement Term Sheet
PowerSchool, Hobsons, Heap, and the Chicago Board of Education signed a term sheet with Q.J. on January 23, 2026. The class period for the Naviance settlement ends on that date.
Financial Terms Reached at Fourth Mediation
The Naviance parties agreed on the financial terms of a class settlement at their fourth mediation before retired Judge James F. Holderman on January 13, 2026. Earlier sessions took place October 9 and December 23, 2025.
Related Suit Filed Against Heap in New York
Plaintiff's counsel filed I.J. v. Heap Inc., No. 1:25-cv-07583, in the Southern District of New York on September 11, 2025. The settlement agreement says that individual case was resolved separately.
Court Dismisses Heap and the Constitutional Claims
On August 20, 2025, Judge Alonso granted Heap's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction in the Naviance case. The court also dismissed the constitutional claims against PowerSchool and the Chicago Board of Education.
Court Opens Merits Discovery
The Northern District of Illinois granted Q.J.'s motion to open merits discovery in the Naviance case on March 18, 2025. The defendants later produced more than 503,000 pages of documents.
First Amended Complaint Adds a Federal Wiretap Claim
Q.J. filed a first amended class action complaint against the Naviance defendants on January 13, 2025. It added a claim under the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
First Mediation Fails
Q.J., PowerSchool, and the Chicago Board of Education mediated before retired Judge James F. Holderman on December 7, 2023 and did not reach a deal. Defendants moved to dismiss the original complaint later that month.
Q.J. Files the Naviance Class Action
A Chicago Public Schools student identified as Q.J. filed Q.J. v. PowerSchool Holdings LLC in the Northern District of Illinois on August 18, 2023. The complaint targets PowerSchool, Hobsons, Heap, and the Chicago Board of Education.
Naviance Settlement Class Period Begins
The Naviance settlement class period starts on August 18, 2021, exactly two years before the lawsuit was filed. Students who logged into Naviance from that date through January 23, 2026 are class members.
How to File a Naviance Lawsuit
These 6 steps outline how to file a Naviance lawsuit.
- Confirm you logged into Naviance in the class period: Class membership required at least one student login between August 18, 2021 and January 23, 2026.
- Check your notice for a class member ID: Kroll Settlement Administration sent notices by email or mail, and the notice carried a unique ID for each student.
- Contact the administrator about claims already filed: The official site is PowerSchoolNavianceSettlement.com and the phone line is (833) 447-8852.
- Keep your claim confirmation: A confirmation helps verify a submitted claim, and payments only go to valid claims filed by July 27, 2026.
- Use only the official settlement website: Imposter sites may offer to reopen claims for a fee, and a real settlement never charges one.
- Consult an attorney about independent claims: People who validly opted out kept the right to sue separately, and only a qualified attorney can assess that option.
Naviance Lawsuit is no longer accepting new claims. The claims deadline of July 27, 2026 has passed, and trackers report the court granted final approval on August 19, 2026, so no new claims can be filed in this settlement.
What Did the Naviance Lawsuit Defendants Allegedly Know?
Plaintiffs allege PowerSchool and Hobsons knowingly built third-party tracking tools into Naviance without telling students or parents. The defendants deny this, and the case settled without a merits ruling on what any defendant knew.
The settlement requires PowerSchool to update its privacy disclosures to name tools from Heap, Google, Microsoft, and Gainsight. That change shows what students could not see before, although it does not decide whether the earlier disclosures were adequate.
| Party | Role | Position |
|---|---|---|
| PowerSchool Holdings LLC and Hobsons, Inc. | Operators of the Naviance platform, with Hobsons the original developer and PowerSchool the later owner | Deny wrongdoing and agreed to the $17.25 million settlement |
| Heap Inc., now Content Square, Inc. | Analytics provider whose code was allegedly embedded in Naviance | Deny wrongdoing and joined the settlement, after winning dismissal on jurisdiction in August 2025 |
| Board of Education of the City of Chicago | School system whose students used Naviance and which contracted with Hobsons | Denies wrongdoing and agreed to stronger vendor contract terms for four years |
How Does the Naviance Lawsuit Compare to the PowerSchool Data Breach Case?
The Naviance lawsuit and the PowerSchool data breach litigation are two separate cases against the same parent company. Only the Naviance case produced a settlement with a claim form.
| Matter | What It Involves | Relationship to This Case |
|---|---|---|
| PowerSchool data breach MDL No. 3149 | A multidistrict litigation in the Southern District of California over a December 2024 breach of PowerSchool's student information systems, with reported estimates of 50 million or more affected students and educators | Different court, different conduct, and no settlement or claim form reported, according to Settlement Insight and K-12 Dive |
| I.J. v. Heap Inc., No. 1:25-cv-07583 | An individual Southern District of New York suit against Heap over the same Naviance tracking theory | Resolved individually, according to the settlement agreement, and separate from the class settlement |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Naviance lawsuit about?
The Naviance lawsuit is a federal class action alleging that third-party tracking tools intercepted students' communications on the Naviance platform without consent. It is captioned Q.J. v. PowerSchool Holdings LLC, No. 1:23-cv-05689, in the Northern District of Illinois.
Is the Naviance lawsuit a class action or an MDL?
The Naviance lawsuit is a class action, not a multidistrict litigation. It proceeds before Judge Jorge L. Alonso in the Northern District of Illinois, while the separate PowerSchool data breach case is an MDL in California.
Did PowerSchool settle the Naviance lawsuit?
Yes, PowerSchool and the other defendants agreed to a $17.25 million settlement of the Naviance lawsuit, and trackers report final approval on August 19, 2026. All four defendants deny wrongdoing.
Can I still file a claim in the Naviance settlement?
No, the claims deadline for the Naviance settlement passed on July 27, 2026, so new claims cannot be filed. No late-claim process has been reported, and the administrator can answer questions about claims already submitted.
How much is the Naviance class action lawsuit payout per person?
The Naviance class action lawsuit payout per person has not been announced, because each valid claim shares equally in the fund after fees and costs. A student privacy group reported an early attorney estimate of about $50, which is only a projection.
Is the Naviance lawsuit legitimate?
Yes, the Naviance lawsuit is a real federal case, and the settlement agreement is filed on the court's docket as Document 212-1. Anyone asking for a fee to reopen claims is not the administrator.
Is the Naviance lawsuit the same as the PowerSchool data breach?
No, the Naviance lawsuit is not the same as the PowerSchool data breach case. The Naviance case concerns alleged tracking tools on one platform, while the breach case concerns a December 2024 intrusion into student information systems.