The key technology question for district leaders in 2026 has shifted from “What should we buy?” to “What’s actually worth keeping?” according to an article in EdSurge.
Post-pandemic there has been rapid adoption without reflection. The era of technology for technology’s sake is over.
Now districts question return on instruction, demand better data governance, and see cybersecurity as a cultural challenge. As they prepare students for an AI-oriented workforce and protect them from screen overload and data exploitation, here are five trends to watch in 2026:
1) Making the best use of screen-time consumption
The focus is shifting from whether technology belongs in schools to how it should be used, requiring better communication and stronger pedagogy.
- “Kids are not sitting in school mindlessly scrolling TikTok. There’s a pedagogically sound reason for what we’re doing. But we haven’t always communicated that difference well,’ says Kris Hagel, chief information officer for Peninsula School District in Washington.
- Evan Abramson, director of innovation and technology at New Jersey’s Morris-Union Jointure Commission, argues that edtech has displaced good teaching.
“We’ve taken the power from teachers and put it in technology’s hands,” he says. “There’s never a purpose for devices in kindergarten and first grade. They should be learning the foundational skills many aren’t getting elsewhere.”
- Susan Moore, director of instructional technology at Meriden Public Schools in Connecticut, says, “Very few, if any, of our students will graduate into a workforce that doesn’t use technology. Let’s have conversations about what makes a good prompt, how to be a critical consumer of information. That’s the work we should be doing.”
2) AI is not optional
AI is embedding itself into edtech products whether districts are ready or not, says Freddie Cox, chief technology officer of Tennessee’s Knox County Schools. “This is the year a leader cannot bury their head in the sand. AI becomes part of the purchasing decision,” he says.
The challenge goes beyond selecting tools to supporting educators through rapid tech advances. Teachers in Hagel’s district last fall admitted that, for the first time, they could not keep up with all the changes.
AI implementation is being approached cautiously in some districts. Jon Castelhano, executive director of technology for Gilbert Public Schools in Arizona, assembled an AI task force and spent last year training teachers. “We wanted it to be conservative and meaningful,” he says.
Educating district leadership about what AI is and how it’s involved in different apps has been the focus for Tom Ingram, director of IT for Escambia County Public Schools in Florida.
3) Controlling data is everyone’s responsibility
Inconsistent definitions across systems, unclear ownership of data and weak privacy controls are fundamental challenges.
“Data governance conversations are leaving the tech department, and AI is exposing issues we’ve ignored. We have to focus on data governance, privacy and ethics. AI is only as good as the data that backs it up,” says Chantell Manahan, director of technology at Metropolitan School District of Steuben County in Indiana.
“How do you get information into AI systems so they do what you need and make the changes you want to see? That requires understanding what data you have available,” says Hagel.
Michael Steinberg, assistant director of technology at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Central School District in New York, spent four years building role-based access profiles tied to every job title in his district. “When someone gets onboarded, offboarded, or changes roles, everything updates automatically. A special education teacher who becomes a bus driver, for example, immediately loses access to IEPs,” he explains.
4) Resource constraints force more scrutiny on value added
In 2026 districts are navigating increasing hardware costs and infrastructure demands.
This forces hard conversations about the value added by technology. What is worth paying for? “We’re looking at return on instruction,” says Moore. “What metrics show us whose products are effective?” She rejects vendor analytics that don’t demonstrate learning outcomes. “I’ve seen crazy metrics, like number of clicks.”
More districts will consolidate platforms, even if that means losing features, Manahan believes. “It’s not just about funding. It’s about human capacity. Parents, teachers and leaders can’t juggle endless platforms,” she explains.
“The device is not the teacher. We need direct instruction and platforms that support teachers as a resource — not replace them,” says Debbie Leonard, executive director of technology for Greenwood School District 50 in South Carolina.
5) Cybersecurity is everyone’s shared responsibility
“AI makes it easy to create believable emails,” says Steinberg. “The traditional method of blocking domains doesn’t work anymore.” One of Steinberg’s board members lost money to a phishing attack impersonating the superintendent.
Districts are responding to this reality with awareness training, advanced email security, multifactor authentication and network certificates. Steinberg deployed student multifactor authentication down to fourth grade using pictograph-based authentication.
Leonard’s district in South Carolina will soon conduct phishing simulations with high school students. “We have to do better at educating people,” she says.
Instead of allowing vendors, headlines or emergencies to drive decisions, districts leaders are asking what students need and choosing products that meet those goals. They are taking control of the tech conversation.
“We need to get back to innovation and creativity among teachers,” Abramson says. “We need partners who will push back sometimes and take the journey with us. Technology cannot be the whole curriculum anymore.”
EdSurge
