The Pulse on Emerging 2025 Risks for School Districts

In the quickly evolving landscape of emerging risks, school districts face the challenge of understanding and mitigating potential threats that could impact their planning, strategy and resource allocation. Obstacles such as gaps in state funding, changing demographics, the increased need for safety and security measures, talent pool shortages, the rapid advancement of new technology and the impact to vouchers and school choice have had a cumulative effect, resulting in dynamic changes to risks that will require districts to stay ahead of the curve.

One of the most pressing trends in emerging risks to districts is reductions in revenue from state sources and teacher shortages at all levels, including those positions in high demand such as for special education and bilingual programs. The result of further migration to suburban districts and the calls for school choice, will place additional burdens on some schools while decreasing enrollment and revenue for neighboring districts. Additionally, the lack of a rich talent pool for teachers has resulted in increases of uncertified teachers and those with less experience and training to fill the much-needed voids.

Also, the rise in use of AI-assisted misinformation, with the proliferation of deepfakes and deliberate disinformation, poses significant threats both internally and externally to the reputation of the district within the community. School districts must be vigilant in combating misinformation and enhancing their content moderation and fact-checking capabilities to safeguard against potential risks, both inside and outside the classroom, through enhanced communication methods.

As a result, misaligned talent profiles, escalating political polarization, continued threats to student/teacher safety, security from both within and external to campuses, soft ransomware attacks and AI-enhanced malicious attacks continue to be key risk areas that school districts need to address proactively. By understanding the implications of these risks and adopting collaborative, agile and integrated approaches to audit and risk mitigation activities, school districts can bolster their resilience and readiness to tackle these emerging threats.

As school districts strive to enhance their risk management capabilities, the adoption of holistic, agile risk management processes, organization-wide collaboration on risks and refinement of risk profiles are essential steps to be performed down to each campus level. By assessing the maturity and capability of their Enterprise Risk Management function, along with understanding their risk profile, organizations can gain valuable insights into their risk management practices and identify areas for improvement prior to those risks causing a crisis.

In conclusion, navigating emerging risks in 2025 will require a proactive and strategic approach to risk management through the leveraging of internal audit and your districts key stakeholders. Furthermore, investing in initiatives that identify and monitor evolving risks, collaborating with stakeholders and leveraging data automation and technology, organizations can enhance their adaptability and resilience in the face of uncertainty. By focusing on priorities, efficiencies, industry best practices and integrated audit approaches, organizations can effectively address emerging risks and safeguard their operations in a mutable and ever-changing environment.

For additional clarity and insight on this and many other education-related topics, contact Weaver today. We’re here to help.

©2025