U.S. Says Disc in Iraq Had American School Plans

Federal law enforcement authorities have notified school districts in six states, including California, that a computer disc found in Iraq contained photos, floor plans and other information about their schools, two U.S. officials said Thursday.

The downloaded data found by the U.S. military in July -- all publicly available on the Internet -- included an Education Department report guiding schools on how to prepare and respond to a crisis, said one official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The officials said it was unclear who downloaded the information and stressed there was no evidence of any specific threats involving the schools.

The eight districts mentioned are in Georgia, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon and California. The officials said last month FBI agents in charge of those areas alerted local education and law enforcement officials about the finding.

The officials did not provide the names of the districts. But Salem, Ore., Supt. Kay Baker confirmed her district was among them.

San Diego schools also were included, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune, and ABC News said there was a second California district.

In a separate but more widespread warning put out this week, the Education Department advised school leaders nationwide to watch for people spying on their buildings or buses to help detect any possibility of terrorism like the deadly school siege last month in Russia.

The warning follows an analysis by the FBI and the Homeland Security Department of the siege that killed nearly 340 people, many of them students, in the city of Beslan.