All the Biggest Announcements from Blackbaud’s 2026 K–12 User Conference

Blackbaud’s highly anticipated K–12 User Conference recently brought educators, administrators, and technology leaders to Boston for its first in-person gathering since 2019. Over three days, more than 600 attendees joined 80+ sessions focused on the future of school technology.

Here’s a look at the biggest announcements to come out of Blackbaud’s 2026 K–12 UC.

From System of Record to System of Action

Across the UC, one vision tied every announcement together: Blackbaud’s Total School Solution is evolving from a system of record—designed primarily to store data and surface insights—to a system of intelligent action designed to analyze information, make recommendations, and complete tasks, with humans always at the center of decision-making. That means smarter workflows, less administrative burden, and built-in AI to expand what school teams can do, giving them back time for the work that matters most.

Updates Across the Blackbaud K–12 Portfolio

Enrollment & Admissions

• Dynamic Enrollment Contracts (Early Adopter Program opens this fall): new dynamic contract logic adapts to each family and seamlessly connects enrollment, aid, billing, and financial setup—eliminating manual handoffs and creating a smooth transition from enrollment to financial management.
• Admissions Agent (Early Adopter Program opens this winter): agentic AI purpose-built to provide a personalized admissions experience to every family and move candidates through the admissions funnel
• Candidate Insights (in development): AI-powered admissions intelligence designed to help teams evaluate applicants more consistently and with less bias

Student Information & Learning Management

• A Common Records Engine (limited availability now): that syncs data in real time between Blackbaud Student Information System™ and Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT®, breaking down silos between departments and empowering your advancement teams
• Grading Hub (live in product): centralizes grading settings and reduces the clicks required to manage marking periods
• New Assignment Experience (live in product): a redesigned modernized workflow for teachers and students, including AI tools to help teachers create and manage assignments
• Parent-Submitted Attendance (live in product): parents can submit attendance directly through the parent portal, while schools retain full control
• Student Success Insights (in development): a configurable early-warning system that draws on grades, attendance, and conduct data to help identify students who need additional support 

Business Office & Billing

• Billing Management (available now): a full rebuild of the billing experience, living inside the same platform as enrollment and student information
• Direct Financial Edge NXT GL posting (live in product): streamlined posting between billing and your general ledger, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT
• Collections Assistant (Early Adopter Program open now): AI-powered support for collections workflows
• Parent Support AI (pilot launching August 2026): handles family billing questions outside of business hours

Analytics & Advancement

• Core Data – Enhanced (formerly SchoolBI; Early Adopter Program live): bring all education management data into a single warehouse, with one-click DASL/NAIS reporting and natural-language querying coming later this year
• AI Premium Features for Raiser’s Edge NXT (available now): surface high-potential donors and generate major gift action plans in one click
• Development Agent (available now): an autonomous AI agent already helping advancement teams manage follow-ups and flag lapsed donors

Customer Success

• 87% reduction in phone hold times
• Virtual Assistant that diagnoses issues and guides customers through resolution conversationally
• A customer success team more committed to K–12 than ever, under dedicated leadership and built for the rhythm of a school year

*Capabilities shown span a range of availability — some are already in customers’ hands, others are entering Early Adopter Programs, and some are early prototypes. Not everything shown will ship exactly as demonstrated.

Looking Ahead

Every direction announced at the K–12 UC reflects where Blackbaud is headed next, shaped directly by feedback from the educators and administrators who use these tools every day.

Stay tuned for our 2027 K–12 UC announcement later this year!