Is the Edtech boom over?

Key points:

• • The edtech boom is cooling, shifting focus from adoption to responsible and effective use.
• • AI raises concerns around critical thinking, requiring discipline, training, and age-appropriate policies.
• • Schools are prioritizing engagement, human connection, and mission-driven frameworks over automation.

May 2026 —The edtech boom that swept through American classrooms — accelerated by pandemic-era remote learning and venture capital enthusiasm — is showing unmistakable signs of cooling. As funding declines, the questions have changed: it’s no longer can educators use the technology in classrooms, but should they, and how?

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“Technology is a double-edged sword,“Robert Biasotti, executive director of St. Thomas Aquinas High School, told Invest: Greater Fort Lauderdale. “It’s a tool of tremendous opportunity, but also a tool of tremendous distraction.”

Global venture capital investment in edtech reached a peak of $20.8 billion at the height of the pandemic before collapsing to $2.4 billion in 2024 — the lowest level in a decade and an 89% decline from that high. In 1Q25, funding fell a further 35% year-over-year, to just $410 million.  

The emergence and implementation of artificial intelligence in K-12 schools faster than the guardrails designed to govern it is another factor reshaping the conversation. According to a report by the Center for Democracy and Technology, 85% of teachers and 86% of students used AI during the 2024-25 school year. Yet the institutions charged with guiding that use have struggled to keep pace. 

Engagement over automation

At the heart of the debate is a deceptively simple question about how children actually learn. In an interview with Invest: Greater Orlando, Amanda Livermore, founding president and CEO of Cristo Rey Orlando High School, said: “Research shows that students learn best when they are actively engaged and when learning is personalized.” 

If personalization is the goal, then AI deployed as a shortcut — a way to generate essays, skip research, or automate thinking — works directly against it. That concern resonates broadly: 71% of teachers worry that AI weakens the critical thinking and research skills students need. Another report shows 61% of parents and roughly half of middle and high-school students believe increased AI use could harm students’ critical thinking skills.

Discipline as a prerequisite

Biasotti highlighted the tension that many school leaders are navigating. “If used correctly, it enhances learning. Students can access information instantly, explore different perspectives, and deepen discussions.”

But Biasotti is clear-eyed about the conditions required for that upside to materialize. “It requires discipline. It takes a skilled educator, disciplined students, and engaged parents to ensure technology is used productively. If not, it becomes a distraction. It’s very easy to lose focus.”

That framing — technology as contingent on human infrastructure rather than a standalone solution — marks a meaningful departure from the edtech optimism of a decade ago, when platforms were often marketed as capable of transforming outcomes on their own. The data suggests those conditions are far from universally in place: only 1 in 10 teachers reported receiving training on how to respond if a student’s AI use appeared detrimental to their wellbeing, and half of students agree that using AI in class makes them feel less connected to their teacher. 

Calibrating by developmental stage

Among the most concrete responses to the rise of AI in education is a move toward age-differentiated technology policies. Rachel Rodriguez, head of school at Ransom Everglades School, describes an approach that is both principled and graduated. “Our sixth- and seventh-graders use technology through virtual reality and required computer programming, but they do not use AI in school. As students get older, they encounter courses that focus directly on ethics and technology, including projects on ethical frameworks for different types of technology use.”

The underlying goal, Rodriguez explains, is about preserving the cognitive skills that technology can erode if introduced carelessly. “Our goal is to make sure technology strengthens, rather than replaces, the critical thinking skills students need to navigate a complex information environment… Across the board, we are trying to be intentional: preserving writing, research and analytical skills while ensuring students are fully prepared for a digital world.”

The policy infrastructure to support that kind of intentionality remains thin at the national level. As of January 2026, 31 state departments of education had issued official AI guidance for K-12 public schools — still leaving many individual schools and districts to largely navigate the landscape on their own. In December 2024, just 31% of public schools had a written policy governing students’ use of AI. In September 2025, more than 80% of students reported that teachers had not explicitly taught them how to use AI for schoolwork. The gap between adoption and guidance is where school leaders say the real work now lies.

Mission as an anchor

Perhaps the most striking theme across school leadership nationally is the turn toward mission and values as a counterweight to technological momentum. Kevin Plummer, head of school at Tampa Preparatory School, frames growth itself as a test of institutional character. “We’ll continue to be thoughtful about growth and the integration of AI into our programs,“ he said to Invest: Tampa Bay. “Success can challenge a school’s humility, so staying grounded in our mission and values is essential.“

Plummer’s concern extends beyond academics. “In the near term, we’re focused on helping young people navigate what feels like a tumultuous adult world. We want to preserve their childhood — their hope, dreams, and inspiration — while modeling empathy, compassion, and understanding.”

Those concerns find an unsettling echo in the data. Thirty-eight percent  of students say it is easier to talk to AI than to their parents, and more than two-thirds of parents and students agree that parents have no idea how students are actually interacting with AI. It is a reminder that the edtech debate is not only pedagogical. It is also about what schools believe childhood is for. 

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