What K-12 Buyers Really Want in 2026: Insights From FETC

The 2026 FETC Conference took place in Orlando, Florida this year, where K-12 education leaders highlighted how budgets, technology trends, requirements and opportunities are intersecting and how alignment is key to success.

One of the key takeaways is that AI in education is past the experimentation phase and has clearly moved into execution. K-12 school districts are no longer asking if they should use AI but how to best utilize it responsibly, securely and at scale. According to conference speakers, “51% of educators’ time is spent on administrative tasks” — this underscores district leaders’ hope that AI can grant them time reclaimed for students.

During the conference, districts explained ROI as having two byproducts: return on investment (cost savings, efficiency and impact on staffing) and return on instruction (personalization, accessibility and student engagement). Technology companies that can show how their solutions support both will have a competitive advantage.

For IT companies, messaging around AI solutions should incorporate the theme of reducing administrative burden whether that’s scheduling, registration or curriculum writing instead of marketing AI as “transformative.” Conversations around ROI are shifting from “innovation” toward operational efficiency and instructional return.

Other sessions emphasized AI is no longer confined only to computer science or IT electives but is being woven throughout all programs and career/technical pathways. Students are already using AI for entertainment, schoolwork and creativity. Global pressures such as Japan’s introduction of AI-related informatics requirements for college admission are accelerating adoption.

District AI task forces are now expected, with focus lying heavily on data privacy, security risk, responsible classroom use and alignment with policies such as FERPA. For IT companies, if your product or solutions address instruction, analytics, content or workflow, AI literacy and transparency are now must-haves rather than differentiators.

One of the most consistent themes at FETC was risk awareness particularly around AI models. Some districts have specific distinctions around AI systems: open AI systems which pose a higher risk if not designed to protect student data and walled garden models, district-controlled environments where vendors do not retain or train on student data.

This is where frameworks like the Cyber Rubric for Education are gaining momentum, translating NIST cybersecurity standards into education-specific guidance.

For IT companies, expect more scrutiny of data handling and management, hosting models and sub-processors.

District Use Cases

FETC 2026 was rife with district-specific use cases that have moved past pilot and into production. Many high-impact district pain points were solved with AI. For instance, student placement and scheduling challenges were solved by AI balancing rosters rather than principals hand-scheduling students with paper grids. When it comes to new student registration, one district replaced a disliked, expensive system by vibe coding an AI-built platform in three months using Lovable AI. To offset the complexities of curriculum writing, some districts have begun using AI to unpack state-level standards with teachers validating instead of writing from scratch. AI is also helping to address accessibility standards by translating PDFs into braille for visually impaired students in one day instead of weeks or months. Teachers also noted that learning analytics are generally their hardest task providing ample opportunity for AI-powered insights.

Some of the most compelling discussions also focused on how to keep humanity throughout the learning process. In 2026, educators are teaching students how to generate their own AI-driven feedback, use AI to support non-English native speakers, create personalized decodable books for students and publish newsletters as audio podcasts for families.

Supporting all of this progress is a backbone comprised of resilient and modern infrastructure, faster internet and more reliable networks. These key enablers are allowing for more valuable AI workloads, multimedia creation, esports and real-time data analytics, ultimately bringing IT leaders deeper into conversations around instruction. For IT companies, this signals continued demand for scalable networks, secure access, performance monitoring and AI-ready architectures.

In 2026, IT companies will advance further by showing demonstrable ROI (both instructional and operational), robust data privacy posture, alignment with standards such as FERPA and NIST-based frameworks, how practical use cases can solve real district pain points and messaging that underscores the importance of time, trust and humanity.

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About the Author: Yvonne Maffia is the senior analyst covering state, local and education markets. She applies insights and analysis to purchasing trends to help vendors and partners shorten their sales cycles. Prior to joining TD SYNNEX Public Sector, Yvonne spent 8 years working in state and local government, where she oversaw advisory boards across the State of Florida and served as an analyst to a local politician. Yvonne currently lives in Washington, DC.