In Harris County, Texas, an 18-year-old Klein Forest High School student, Keontra Lamont Kenemore, has been charged with a third-degree felony for allegedly orchestrating a cyberattack that severely disrupted the STAAR testing process for Klein ISD. As reported by Click2Houston, Kenemore is accused of using his school-issued Chromebook to access websites that launched Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on April 16, causing significant interruptions to the district's internet service.

According to ABC13, the cyberattack impacted over 24,000 students district-wide, with an initial 3,000 students directly affected on the first day of the English Language Arts (ELA1/Reading) test. These students were forced to stop and restart their writing essays and multiple choice test answers due to the attack. On the following day, another 700 students had to completely to retake their STAAR tests because of the continuing disruptions.

Chris Bronk, a University of Houston professor, likened the cyberattack to "pulling the fire drill to get out of an exam," pointing out that the use of technology in such disruptive manners can cause widespread unease. Court documents suggested that Kenemore admitted to school administrators his involvement in sending the DDoS attacks on multiple occasions. Following the incident, Kenemore was expelled and criminal charges were pursued.

The cyberattack not only posed immediate problems for the students but also holds potential long-term effects for the district. A district spokesperson mentioned concerns that the incident might to negatively impact Klein ISD's accountability rating from the Texas Education Agency, indicating the far-reaching implications of such actions. Kenemore, now out on bond, has been assigned a state-appointed lawyer to navigate the ensuing legal process.