From new AI regulations to widespread cell phone bans, the 2025-26 school year brings sweeping changes – and K-12 school leaders need to be ready.
Across the country, state-level legislation is reshaping what school operations, digital learning, and student safety look like. New policies touch everything from student privacy and online wellbeing, to teacher support and parental engagement. These shifts create both opportunity and uncertainty, especially for those tasked with leading change in their districts.
That’s why we launched our 2025-26 School Readiness Guide: to help school leaders plan and prepare with clarity and purpose.
Why This Matters for K-12 Schools Right Now
This school year is being shaped by a growing wave of new state mandates on top of longstanding federal requirements like CIPA and FERPA. In many states, legislation now outlines exactly how districts must approach key K-12 topics, including:
- Student cell phone usage
- AI in the classroom
- Wellness monitoring
- Edtech contracts and data governance
- Physical campus safety
- Family engagement
- Digital classroom management
The public conversation around student safety and educational equity is louder – and more complex – than ever before. Districts need to stay proactive, compliant, and grounded in student-centered strategy.
“How do we support these students in their academic learning? Our job is to follow the policies of the district and the state, while always putting the student – and the student voice – first.”
Tammy Wincup, CEO, Securly
Inside the 2025-26 School Readiness Guide
To support school and district leaders through this ever-changing landscape, we created the School Readiness Guide: a comprehensive resource designed to help K-12 decision-makers align their practices with emerging policy, safety needs, and leadership best practices.
The guide covers six key focus areas, each with breakdowns of what’s changed, why it matters to you and your schools, and what actions to consider next:
- Cell phone bans & digital distractions
- Student data privacy & vendor accountability
- Campus & physical safety
- Online safety & digital wellbeing
- Responsible AI readiness & usage
- Community-centered student support
Each section includes a clear checklist and action items to follow, making the guide easy to reference and implement.
You can download the guide for free here.
Explore the Latest 2025-26 School Policy Shifts in Your State
While the School Readiness Guide offers national insights, each state has unique legislation and timelines that affect how districts should respond.
Alongside the School Readiness Guide, we’re creating state-specific readiness pages to help you stay informed and take the right steps locally. These resources include:
- Summaries of relevant legislation and funding opportunities
- Key deadlines and implementation details
- Guidance on what K-12 school leaders need to do next
Choose your state from the alphabetized list below to learn more; we’ll be updating our state-specific list as more states are added to our website in the coming weeks and months:
Further K-12 Guidance & Support is Just a Click Away
At Securly, we support thousands of K-12 schools and districts in building safer, better connected, more future-ready learning environments. Whether you’re navigating new legislation or looking for a long-term partner in student wellness, digital safety, or classroom management, we’re here to help.
To learn more about Securly, visit our website.
To discuss your school and its needs for 2025-26 with one of our experts, schedule a call.
