🛝 AI Resistance Dies, Funding Crisis Hits, Ed Tech Industry "Broken"

Welcome to Playground Post, a bi-weekly newsletter that keeps education innovators ahead of what's next.

This week's reality check: The resistance to AI in classrooms is officially over, but the funding that kept many programs alive during the pandemic definitely isn't. Meanwhile, an industry insider is calling out ed tech's broken promises.

💎 Data Gem

State and local governments shoulder the bulk of education costs, devoting roughly 34.7% of their budgets to education, while the federal government spends only about 2.35%, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. 

For every federal dollar spent on education, state and local governments spend $8.27.

The AI Resistance Is Over. Teachers Are Leading the Charge Now

New research from Quizlet shows AI adoption jumped 29% in one year, with 85% of high school and college students and teachers now using the technology.

But here's the shift.

Teachers are now outpacing students in AI adoption at 87% vs 84%.

That's a complete reversal from 2024, when students led the way. Teachers are using AI for research (54%), summarizing information (47%), and generating classroom materials (45%). 

Students use it similarly: summarizing (56%), research (46%), and creating study guides (45%).

The attitude change is noticeable. 

Positive feelings about AI in education outweigh negative ones 43% to 37%. 

Teachers are most optimistic about ethical AI use (57%), compared to parents (46%) and students (29%).

Industry experts agree the pushback phase is finished. 

"The game is over with trying to prevent AI in classrooms," says Edson Barton, CEO of YouScience.

The market has moved from "should we use AI?" to "how do we use it well?" 

Teachers want tools for personalized learning, material generation, and administrative efficiency. 

The opportunity is building solutions that help teachers become facilitators rather than content deliverers.

Five Ways Schools Are Changing Next Year

District Administration surveyed experts on what's shifting in the 2025-26 school year.

Some of the main predictions are:

Career and Technical Education goes mainstream. 

Districts are rethinking graduation requirements to prioritize career-aligned math over traditional four-year sequences. Companies building CTE-focused curricula and career pathway tools should pay attention.

Schools become safety models for other public spaces. 

With AEDs in hallways, Narcan in nurse offices, and technology that notifies 911 in seconds, schools are positioning themselves as the most prepared public environments. The safety tech market for schools continues expanding.

Reading instruction gets serious for older students. 

Grades 4-8 teachers lack resources and training for explicit literacy support. There's growing demand for intervention tools and professional development focused on foundational skills for older learners.

Post-ESSER tutoring programs face major cuts. 

Without pandemic relief funds, districts are downsizing programs or prioritizing experienced tutors and smaller groups. 

The tutoring market is consolidating, creating opportunities for efficient, scalable solutions.

The common thread? 

Schools are making strategic choices about resource allocation as free federal money disappears. Companies that can deliver results within tighter budgets will win.

Ed Tech Veteran: The Industry Has Lost Its Way

Anne Trumbore helped launch Coursera and has spent decades in education technology. Now she's sounding an alarm: ed tech is failing the students who need it most.

Her diagnosis? 

The free-market business model and education technology aren't compatible.

"Education is difficult. It's expensive to provide," Trumbore told The 74. "When we focus on frictionless delivery of content and not on an education experience," we lose what makes learning effective.

Tools that work well for educated, self-directed learners but leave behind low-income, nontraditional students who need more support. 

MOOCs promised to democratize education but ended up serving those who already had advantages.

Trumbore sees the same pattern emerging with AI tutoring and other newer technologies. 

The focus on scale and engagement over learning outcomes means innovations "provide more returns to edtech investors" than to learners.

Her critique matters because it comes from inside the industry. 

Companies building education technology should consider: Are you optimizing for user engagement or learning outcomes? 

The difference could determine whether your product truly serves all students or just the ones who need help least.

⚡️ More quick hits

This week in education:

Austin ISD plans consolidations — District has lost 10,000+ students over a decade, leaving 21,000 empty seats; closures/consolidations planned by 2026-27

12 states face federal funding risk — Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky and others meet three risk factors that could lead to staff layoffs and program cancellations if federal cuts occur

Phone ban support grows — Pew survey shows 74% favor limiting student phone use, up six points from 2024; New York allocated $38.5M for implementation

Credential theft surges 800% — Cybersecurity firm reports 1.8 billion compromised records from infostealer malware; ransomware attacks up 179%

Federal admissions data collection expands — President administration requires colleges to submit six years of application data disaggregated by race and sex

🔎 Worth Checking Out

Monthly roundup of resources you might like:

• Comparitech Ransomware Stats — H1 2025 roundup showing continued cybersecurity challenges facing education institutions

• State AI Policy Tracker — Tracker of K-12 AI policies and model frameworks by state

• TeachAI: AI Guidance for Schools Toolkit — Comprehensive policy resources and principles for implementing AI in education settings

• SETDA Universal Connectivity Report — Executive summary on connectivity needs and infrastructure requirements for schools

To stay up-to-date on all things education innovation, visit us at playgroundpost.com.