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A4L Community Newsletter, June 2026

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Welcome to our latest quarterly newsletter, where we bring together the news, ideas, and opportunities that matter most to our Community.
Whether you’re a member or discovering us for the first time, this A4L Newsletter is designed to keep you informed, inspired, and connected. You’ll find updates from across the Community, plus ways to get involved as well as member-only content that showcases the value of being part of it. If you’re not yet a member, be sure to click the button below to find out more.

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The Current EdTech Backlash, AI and the NDPA

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Dan Meyer recently published an article on his Substack titled “Everyone in Edtech Should Show Their Cards” about the current backlash in schools against edtech, specifically citing the draft plan at LAUSD to limit screen time, particularly for elementary students. This and similar initiatives lumping all edtech together as useful distractions has led to a social media tag of #notalledtech, particularly among providers that want to argue that their products shouldn’t be banned. Dan, who is a vice president at the edtech company Amplify, argues that these companies need to put their cards on the table and post videos of how their products are being used to back up their claims with demonstrable evidence (and then he does exactly that).

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The Time for GESS is Now: Why EdTech Cybersecurity Can No Longer Wait

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The EdTech marketplace has a problem that everyone in the sector knows about, complains about, and has somehow tolerated for far too long: there is no common security bar. No shared expectations. No single target for providers to aim at. And while we have spent years discussing frameworks and requirements across jurisdictions, the breaches have kept coming — bigger, more frequent, and more damaging to the students whose data sits at the center of every incident.

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Access 4 Learning (A4L) Community partners with EDDS Institute to launch paid GESS auditing scheme to establish a global standard for EdTech cybersecurity

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The Access 4 Learning (A4L) Community, in partnership with EDDS Institute, today announce the launch of the Global Educational Security Standards (GESS) auditing scheme—an independent, evidence-based audit and certification service for education technology providers.

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Balancing Innovation and Privacy: Addressing the Challenges of Vetting EdTech Tools for Schools

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When I was a child in school, educational technology (edtech) involved either catching cholera on the Oregon trail or answering geography questions to catch Carmen Sandiego, but technology changes quickly. Today, parents, students, and teachers have access to hundreds of edtech tools that help facilitate communication with parents, provide quicker and more personalized feedback to students, and assist teachers in discovering data-driven insights into what their students really need.

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A Call To Action for Education Technology Stakeholders

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The time has come for all stakeholders to unite and tackle the pressing security challenges in the Educational Technology (EdTech) sector. Data breaches are escalating in both frequency and severity, leaving student information vulnerable. A lack of coordination across the marketplace, driven by inconsistent controls and fragmented legal requirements, has only exacerbated the problem. However, there is hope. Through collaboration and a shared commitment to securing the educational ecosystem, we can create a safer environment for all EdTech products and services. Adopting and consistently adhering to standardized controls is essential. Many recent data breaches may have been avoided entirely if these measures had been in place.

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