Artificial Intelligence

Schools Desperately Need Guidance on AI. Who Will Step Up?

By Alyson Klein — November 01, 2023 2 min read
A close up of a laptop and hands overlaid with AI and techie icons.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The use of artificial intelligence is expanding rapidly in K-12 education, but states’ AI policy guidance for schools is not keeping pace, concludes an analysis by the Center on Reinventing Public Education at Arizona State University.

Just two states—California and Oregon—have provided official AI guidance to schools. Another 11 are in the process of developing guidance: Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vermont, and Washington. Twenty-one states said they are not planning to release guidance anytime soon, according to the analysis.

The remaining 17 states and the District of Columbia did not respond to CRPE’s inquiries and do not have AI guidance publicly available, the report said.

Those findings suggest that the “majority of states still do not plan to shape AI-specific strategies or guidance for schools in 2023-24,” the report said.

Students in states without guidance may be “subject to more haphazard, divergent, and inequitable impacts [of AI], all while the technology continues to advance at a remarkable pace,” the report said.

What’s more, recent focus groups the organization held with school and district administrators revealed local leaders “would like more state guidance on using generative AI ethically and responsibly.”

CRPE’s findings jibe with a report released earlier this fall by the State Educational Technology Directors Association, which found that just 2 percent of state education technology officials said their state had initiatives or efforts underway to provide guidance on AI.

In fact, more official recommendations may come from the federal level before many states release their own. A sweeping White House executive order on AI released Oct. 30 calls on the U.S. Department of Education to develop AI resources, policies, and guidance within the next year.

That guidance is to include an “AI toolkit” for education leaders to help schools figure out how to use AI in compliance with privacy laws and regulations, and make sure humans are able to review decisions made by the technology.

Education organizations step up to fill the AI guidance void

For now, education organizations are stepping up to fill the AI guidance void. For instance, the Council of Great City Schools and the Consortium for School Networking released a list of 93 questions for schools to consider when using AI. And Teach AI, an initiative launched by a cadre of nonprofits to help schools think through AI guidance and policy, offered another piece of practical advice: A toolkit of principles to think through when crafting AI guidance.

Districts are also making moves to develop their own policies. New York City, for instance—the nation’s largest public school district—is launching an AI policy lab for K-12 education.

Related Tags:

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Reflections on Evidence-Based Grading Practices: What We Learned for Next Year
Get real insights on evidence-based grading from K-12 leaders.
Content provided by Otus
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
Trust in Science of Reading to Improve Intervention Outcomes
There’s no time to waste when it comes to literacy. Getting intervention right is critical. Learn best practices, tangible examples, and tools proven to improve reading outcomes.
Content provided by 95 Percent Group LLC
Mathematics Webinar How to Build Students’ Confidence in Math
Learn practical tips to build confident mathematicians in our webinar.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Artificial Intelligence From Our Research Center Math Teachers Have Little Confidence in Their AI Abilities
More than half of math teachers rate their skills at using artificial intelligence to teach as either poor or nonexistent.
2 min read
Illustration of a AI robot hand with pointed finger shooting jumbled numbers. A small female professional is standing on top the finger with her hands in her suit pants pockets and looking at all the jumbled numbers.
DigitalVision Vectors
Artificial Intelligence From Our Research Center Can AI Improve Math Class? Teachers Aren’t Sure
A new survey shows how math teachers think AI tools will transform how they teach and students learn in the next five years.
2 min read
Illustration vector image of AI bot and teacher with math problems on blackboard teaching a student.
iStock/Getty
Artificial Intelligence More Teachers Than Ever Before Are Trained on AI. Are They Ready to Use It?
The number of districts that provided AI training to teachers has doubled year over year.
7 min read
An illustration of an outline of a head on a dark blue background and illuminating inside the head are the letters "AI" surrounded by a glowing light blueish white motherboard circuitry pattern.
Vladgrin/iStock/Getty
Artificial Intelligence Opinion The One Thing This Student Will Never Ask AI to Do
K-12 teachers can help students use AI tools productively without limiting their intellectual growth. Here’s how.
Divya Ganesan
3 min read
Vector profile of programming code taking the shape of a human face, colorful letters, futuristic representation of artificial intelligence
iStock/Getty Images