Abstract: Educational modernization is an essential pillar for building a strong education system, while the digital economy serves as a key driver to accelerate this modernization and promote urban-rural educational equity. Based on panel data of 31 provincial-level regions in China from 2011 to 2023, this study constructs composite indices of the digital economy and urban-rural educational equity, and empirically examines the spatial spillover effects of the digital economy and its transmission mechanisms. The results show that the digital economy exerts significant spatial effects on urban-rural educational equity, presenting a "local spillover-neighboring siphon" pattern. Specifically, while the digital economy fosters educational equity within a region, it may exacerbate educational disparities in neighboring areas. Further analysis indicates that the digital economy produces positive spatial diffusion effects locally, but generates spatial echo effects in adjacent regions. Heterogeneity tests reveal that the local spillover effect is more pronounced in regions with high-quality compulsory education and higher levels of educational fairness, whereas the neighboring effects are stronger in regions with higher levels of educational information. Moreover, artificial intelligence plays an important mediating role in the impact of the digital economy on urban-rural educational equity. These conclusions remain robust under a series of alternative specifications. The findings provide important theoretical foundations and policy insights for optimizing the allocation of digital education resources and advancing educational modernization.