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Publisher is going away. What teachers and school offices can do.

For teachers with years of worksheets and class newsletters, and school offices with family newsletters, menus and programs, all saved as .pub files.

The dates

Oct 1
2026

If you pay for Microsoft 365, you lose access to Publisher on October 1, 2026.

Oct 13
2026

If you bought Publisher 2021 (or Office 2021) outright, it keeps running, but support ends October 13, 2026.

If your school or district pays for Microsoft 365, ask your tech office which plan you're on. Microsoft 365 subscribers lose Publisher on October 1.

For teachers

Teachers who used Publisher for years often have hundreds or thousands of files: worksheets, reading logs, class newsletters, certificates, bulletin board signs, parent letters. On Microsoft's own help forum, a teacher asked what to do with thousands of Publisher documents she updates every year with new names and dates. She is not alone.

Split them into two piles:

  • Things you'll print again as they are. A PDF is all you need. It opens on any computer and prints the way the original did.
  • Things you'll change. Class newsletters, editable worksheets, templates for each unit. These need a new home. Canva is free for K-12 teachers and has ready-made worksheet and newsletter layouts. Worksheets that are mostly text and tables are often easier in Word or Google Docs, because tables are fussy in Canva.

For the school office

The front office usually has a different set: the family newsletter, lunch menus, the school calendar, sports schedules, concert and play programs, and the graduation or moving-up program.

Save the once-a-year files first. The graduation program is the one most likely to be discovered broken in May, with the ceremony a week away. Then the weekly and monthly templates. Then the back archive, which is also your school's history: past programs, yearbook-style newsletters, the principal's letters.

Whose files are they?

Before you move anything, check where the files live and who owns them.

  • Files on a school drive or school account usually belong to the school. Check your district's policy before copying them to a personal account.
  • If you're retiring or changing schools, sort this out before your school account closes, not after.
  • Parent letters and class lists include student names. Keep them somewhere private, and think twice before uploading them to a free online converter.

How to save them

  1. Find out which Publisher you have: File, then Account. "Microsoft 365" stops on October 1. An older version you bought once keeps running.
  2. While it opens, save each file as a PDF (File, then Export, then PDF). Keep the .pub file next to it.
  3. For a whole folder at once, your tech office may be able to run Microsoft's free bulk script. It needs a computer with a working, licensed Publisher.
  4. If Publisher is already gone, LibreOffice Draw (free) opens most .pub files and saves them as PDF. Our free guide walks through it.
  5. Name files so they sort: subject or type first, then the date, such as Math - fractions worksheet 2019-03.

Canva Education is free for K-12

Canva Education is free for current K-12 teachers, school librarians and support staff, and for accredited K-12 schools and districts. Sign up with a school email address Canva recognizes and you get access right away. Otherwise, upload a photo of your teaching license or school ID, and Canva reviews it within 48 hours. You re-verify every three years.

It isn't for colleges, private tutors, or homeschool parents who aren't licensed teachers at a school. And K-12 schools can't use Canva for Nonprofits; Canva Education is their program.

Moving a newsletter or program template across? Our step-by-step Canva guide is written for church bulletins, but the steps for a folded program or a newsletter are the same.

Questions

Is Canva Education really free?

Yes, for eligible K-12 teachers, schools and districts. You verify with a school email address or a teaching document, and re-verify every three years.

I'm retiring. Can I take my worksheets with me?

Ask your school or district first. Files on school systems usually belong to the school. Where you're allowed to keep your own materials, save them as PDF and copy them before your school account closes.

We're a church school. Canva Education or Canva for Nonprofits?

If you're an accredited K-12 school, Canva Education is the program; Canva for Nonprofits doesn't accept K-12 schools. The church itself may apply to Canva for Nonprofits separately.

If you have thousands of files and no time

Same service and same prices as for churches. We turn every file into a searchable PDF, remove the duplicates, sort everything by year and type, and rebuild the templates you still use in Canva. Archive is $249 for up to 2,000 files; Complete is $495 and adds 3 templates rebuilt in Canva and a 45-minute training call. You pay after delivery.

Not sure how many you have? Count your Publisher files free. It runs in your browser, and nothing is uploaded.

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