FETC26: Modernizing Ed Tech in the Post-Pandemic Era

ORLANDO — As the dust settles on pandemic-era emergency spending by K-12 districts, state education leaders are facing a pivotal shift from rapid, crisis-driven innovation to sustainable modernization.

At last month’s Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC), Julia Fallon, executive director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), signaled that the "cliff" of pandemic spending is forcing a critical re-evaluation of how schools fund connectivity and protect student data. While the expiration of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds has meant a looming shortage of available resources, Fallon said the moment also presents an opportunity to fix systemic gaps in federal programs and bolster the industry’s standards for safety and interoperability.

THE E-RATE EVOLUTION

A primary focus of this modernization effort centers on the E-rate program, which provides federal funding for school districts and libraries to attain relatively affordable telecommunications services. While the program has been connecting school campuses for decades, Fallon noted that the pandemic exposed a critical need for "off-campus connections."

"We want to make sure that students have that capability at home to complete their homework, to communicate with their teachers, to do research projects," she said. However, she questioned whether the current E-rate framework is the most appropriate vehicle for this expansion and districts’ evolving connectivity needs, suggesting that Congress may need to identify other legislative means to solve the home connectivity issue.

CYBERSECURITY AND STATE-LEVEL SUPPORT

According to Fallon, the shift toward modernization also demands a more robust approach to cybersecurity, an area where K-12 risks are often underestimated.

"I don't think people realize how valuable the data actually is," she said, noting that a student data breach can compromise a child’s credit long before they reach adulthood.

Fallon highlighted the role of states in mitigating these risks, particularly for under-resourced small and rural districts. She specifically pointed to Arkansas as a model, where a state incident response team provides forensic expertise to districts that might otherwise rely on a part-time IT staffer or a teacher with extra responsibilities.

MAKING ED-TECH LEADERS SMARTER CONSUMERS

As artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies flood the market, Fallon said SETDA wants to train education leaders to be better consumers. Thus, she said SETDA is now encouraging leaders to look past marketing pitches and demand evidence-based solutions.

"We really want to reward those companies that are going to be partners with us in this space," she said, emphasizing that the goal is to find vendors willing to be "in the muck with us as we try to figure out how it's going to work in our instructional space.”

NAVIGATING FISCAL UNCERTAINTY

Lastly, Fallon added that the path forward — when it comes to modernizing educational technology — remains clouded by funding uncertainty. She noted that many states are expecting smaller budgets this fiscal year, and warned that while federal funds only make up 10-15 percent of those budgets, they serve as a vital signal for local financial stability.

"I always believe that budgets really reflect your priorities," she said.

As schools move deeper into 2026, she emphasized that prioritizing technology as the revenue landscape tightens will be a challenge.