Ensuring artificial intelligence does not replace humans and addressing workforce needs are just two of the themes emerging across at least seven states that have released guidance on using AI in K-12 settings, according to a recent analysis by nonprofit Digital Promise.
According to Digital Promise, seven states — California, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia — had released guidance to help school district leaders navigate AI in K-12 as of late February.
Meanwhile, a separate review of state AI policies — by Arizona State University’s Center on Reinventing Public Education — found conversations shifting away from last year's focus on plagiarism and bans and moving toward urging teachers to accept AI and use it to enhance learning and their own effectiveness in the classroom.
CRPE said several states framed their guidance with a vision for how AI will shape their future workforces.
North Carolina’s recommendations, for instance, begin by citing statistics from the 2023 World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report predicting 75% of companies will use generative AI by 2025. That report further suggests AI and machine learning will be the fastest growing profession globally.
In Virginia, meanwhile, Gov. Glenn Youngkin's January executive order directed the state Department of Education to develop tools and resources for using AI in schools. The executive order emphasizes that the technology should be a priority “to foster learning environments that prepare all students with the knowledge, competencies and skills for successful careers that utilize AI technology.”
By contrast, CRPE said West Virginia’s guidance primarily focuses on AI’s role in building computer science and technology skills rather than its potential to transform the state workforce.
“States that embrace and acknowledge how AI will reshape the workforce will likely create the most favorable conditions and opportunities for students and educators to access AI-enabled learning and work,” CRPE said.
Setting districtwide AI policies
While AI guidance at the state level continues to roll out along with recommendations from K-12 education experts and researchers, CRPE said there is a “potentially decentralized and fragmented set of approaches to AI.”
Regardless of whether a state has issued guidance for AI in schools, district superintendents will have to lead the way on setting policy, CRPE said. Once implemented, both states and districts should also routinely update their AI policies to account for the quickly evolving technology.
Other K-12-related themes that have popped up across states’ AI guidance documents include stressing the need for AI literacy instruction for students, educators and community members, Digital Promise found. Other topics address the need to tackle equity and inclusion concerns, and the importance of protecting student data privacy and securing personal information.
The varying guidance documents from states also echo a theme pushed out initially in May 2023 by the U.S. Department of Education, which emphasizes a human-centered approach when using the technology. The report stressed that schools adopt a “humans in the loop” strategy, meaning educators should be the key decision-makers for the use of AI in their instruction rather than allowing AI tools to completely replace teachers.
It’s also expected that the Education Department will not release more resources for K-12 school leaders on AI use until the end of this year, CRPE said.
Additionally, the education and strategy firm ILO Group released a framework this month for district and state superintendents to consider when implementing AI in schools. One recommendation includes developing a districtwide AI policy with strong, basic guidance and principles that avoid hard-to-enforce complex details, given the technology’s rapidly evolving nature.
Despite a majority of superintendents understanding AI’s importance and its potential effects on K-12 education, few district leaders view AI as a “very urgent” priority this year, according to a February survey by education consulting firm EAB. The challenge of making time to address AI in schools comes as superintendents struggle to balance myriad other pressing issues, ranging from chronic absenteeism to student discipline.
