Your technology plan needs help: how to write a school technology plan in 2026, with AI included
How to write a school technology plan in 2026: what belongs in it, where AI fits, how to budget for refresh, and a one-semester process for leaders.
Updated with current data and sources. Originally published December 8, 2016.
A school technology plan in 2026 is a short, board-approved document that says what technology is for, who owns it, what it costs over time, how it protects students, and how AI may be used. You can write one in a semester, and if yours predates AI, it needs help.
I have conducted and read hundreds of parent surveys, and I am sure you have seen quite a few too. What is constantly at or near the top? Technology. Parents are not impressed by students playing games or visiting websites. They want real project-based technology use within a standards-based curriculum. The plan is simple, but it requires time to plan and prepare for.
- School technology plan
- A written, multi-year plan that connects a school's instructional goals to its devices, networks, software, AI use, training, security, and budget, with a named owner and a date for each commitment.
Do schools still need a technology plan if no one requires one?
Yes, because the reasons changed. USAC says that starting with Funding Year 2015, technology plans are no longer required for the E-rate program. The paperwork reason went away.
The planning problem stayed. In CoSN's 2026 survey of education technology leaders, the top challenge to technology implementation was budget constraints, and No. 2 was silos that make it hard to work together on technology planning. CoSN calls the lack of planning created by silos a likely contributor to budget issues. Check whether your state, diocese, or accreditor still asks for a plan, then write one you would want even if no one did.
What belongs in a school technology plan in 2026?
Seven parts. Keep each one short enough that a board member will read it.
| Part of the plan | The question it answers | What to bring |
|---|---|---|
| Instruction | What will students do with technology that they could not do otherwise? | Project examples by grade band |
| AI | Where is AI allowed, and who reviews it? | Your AI policy and a list of tools in use |
| Devices and infrastructure | What do we own, and when does it age out? | Inventory with purchase and end-of-update dates |
| Cybersecurity and privacy | How do we prevent, detect, and recover? | Incident plan and vendor review process |
| Accessibility | Can every student and family use what we buy and post? | Website and app review, and purchasing language |
| People | Who supports this, and how are teachers trained? | Staffing map and a training calendar |
| Budget | What does this cost for each of the next several years? | Refresh schedule and funding sources |
How should AI fit into the plan?
Inside it, not beside it. AI touches instruction, data, training, and budget, so a stand-alone document will drift. Write a separate policy for the rules, and let the plan decide where AI serves your goals.
Your peers are moving. CoSN found 79% of districts report AI guidelines, up from 57% in 2025, and AI for Education counts 35 states and Puerto Rico with official guidance. Yet Gallup found only 18% of U.S. public K-12 teachers report formal guidance from administrators. A guideline in a binder is not guidance in a classroom, so the plan needs a training date next to every rule.
Ohio's model policy is a useful template even outside Ohio, and the state required every district to adopt its own AI policy by July 1, 2026. The U.S. Department of Education's July 2025 letter says AI work using federal funds should be educator-led, ethical, accessible, and transparent. If you want help writing this part, the 90-Day AI Readiness Accelerator includes policy templates you can adapt and take to your board.
A technology plan is a promise to students, so write down who keeps each part of it.Ernie Delgado, BeyondK12
What should the budget section plan for?
Start with what you already own, because that is the part most at risk. CoSN asked what is threatened by the end of federal and state emergency funding, and the refresh of classroom technology led the list.
Budget areas at risk as emergency funding ends
If you bought devices in waves, replacement arrives in waves. CoSN found 38% of districts expect reduced funding for devices. Put an end date on everything. Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025, according to Microsoft, and Google says ChromeOS devices receive 10 years of updates from the platform release date, with each model's date on its list.
Then cost it out by year, including the items nobody photographs: licenses, repairs, training, and cyber insurance. Our funding guide shows where schools look for this money, and no source is a sure thing, so the plan should work without any single grant.
What should the security, privacy, and accessibility sections say?
They should say who is responsible and by when, because these are the parts that carry legal and reputational risk.
51%
of surveyed schools and districts reported a cyber incident in the past 12 months.
CIS and CoSN, 2026
34%
reported impacts to school operations from cyber incidents.
CIS and CoSN, 2026
66%
of districts have just one or two people responsible for cybersecurity.
CIS and CoSN, 2026
65%
of ed tech leaders name cybersecurity staffing and the lack of a dedicated budget as the top barriers.
CoSN, 2026
- Cybersecurity: CoSN reports it has been the No. 1 priority for education technology leaders since 2018. Name who responds to an incident, how you restore systems, and how families are told.
- Privacy: Most provisions of the amended COPPA rule had an April 22, 2026, deadline for operators, including a written data retention policy. Ask vendors for theirs. CoSN's 2026 report found only 55% of district processes for vetting free edtech tools require vendors to provide safety information.
- Accessibility: The Justice Department's ADA Title II rule covers public schools and uses WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Dates are now April 26, 2027, for entities serving 50,000 or more people and April 26, 2028, for smaller ones. CoSN found 11% of districts regard accessibility as a key priority. If you run a private school, ask your counsel what applies to you.
How do you write the plan in one semester?
- Build a small team. A leader, a teacher, the network person, the budget person, and a parent. This is your answer to silos.
- Take inventory. List devices, software, AI tools in use, contracts, and renewal dates. You will find things nobody knew you were paying for.
- Listen. Survey parents, teachers, and students. CoSN found 64% of districts report moderate to high community concern about technology for teaching and learning.
- Draft the seven parts. Give each commitment an owner and a date. Cut anything no one will own.
- Price it by year. Put refresh first, then security, then training, then anything new.
- Adopt it and review it. Take it to your board, then report on it once a year.
Where to start this week
Find your current plan and read it. Check the date, count how many times it mentions AI, and list the three things in it that are no longer true. Then pick your team. Be a leader, and lead your school into the future with something written down.
For a fast read on the AI part, take the free AI Readiness Assessment. Eight questions give you a score out of 24 across Policy, People, Curriculum, Guardrails, and Funding, and it shows you where to focus first.
Related reading: Implementing an AI strategy in K-12 education: a roadmap for future-ready schools and Education grants: a guide to funding STEM and AI curriculum and support.
Questions school leaders ask
Do schools still need a technology plan?
Yes, though the federal paperwork reason is gone. USAC says technology plans are no longer required for the E-rate program starting with Funding Year 2015. Schools still need one because CoSN's 2026 survey ranks budget constraints and silos that block technology planning as the top two implementation challenges. Check whether your state, diocese, or accreditor asks for one.
What should a school technology plan include in 2026?
Seven parts: the instructional vision, AI use and review, devices and infrastructure, cybersecurity and privacy, accessibility, people and training, and a multi-year budget. Each part names an owner and a date.
Should AI have its own plan?
Write a separate AI policy, and point to it from the technology plan. The plan decides how AI fits your instruction, budget, and training. The policy sets the rules for acceptable use, academic integrity, data protection, and vendor review.
How often should a technology plan be updated?
Review it every year and rewrite it when something big changes, such as a new device model or a new state rule. A one-page annual update to the board keeps it alive.
Who should write the technology plan?
A small team, not the technology director alone. Include a school leader, a teacher, the person who runs the network, the person who manages the budget, and a parent. CoSN found silos are the No. 2 challenge to technology implementation, so the team itself is part of the fix.
Sources
- EdSurge, report on school IT officials' worries about AI adoption and cybersecurity (June 2026) (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- CoSN, U.S. State of EdTech 2026 (607 responses, data collected January to March 2026) (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- Center for Internet Security and CoSN, The State of K-12 Cybersecurity 2026 (October 2026) (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- USAC, E-rate technology planning guidance (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- Gallup and Walton Family Foundation, most teachers receive no formal guidance on AI use (May 2026) (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- AI for Education, state AI guidance tracker (updated August 2026) (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, model AI policy for schools (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- U.S. Department of Education guidance on AI and federal grant funds (July 2025, via THE Journal) (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- K-12 Dive, 27 states opting into federal school choice program (April 2026) (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- Microsoft Support, Windows 10 support has ended on October 14, 2025 (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- Google, Chrome Enterprise and Education Help, Auto Update policy (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- U.S. Department of Justice, fact sheet on the ADA Title II web and mobile accessibility rule (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- Federal Trade Commission, Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (Federal Register, April 2025) (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
See where your school stands on AI, in five minutes
Eight questions. A score out of 24 across Policy, People, Curriculum, Guardrails, and Funding, with the three fixes that move it most. The report is yours whether or not you ever call us.