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With many students and educators already using widely available artificial intelligence tools, state lawmakers and school districts are playing catch-up on AI policies.

In Maryland, for example, AI usage policies for K-12 schools are 鈥渁ll over the map,鈥� Democratic state Sen. Katie Fry Hester said.

In some school districts, she said, AI use is encouraged, while in others it is restricted, or 鈥斅燼 worst-case scenario for Hester 鈥� there is little to no policy guidance at all.

鈥淲hat we heard repeatedly is that the teachers were feeling like they had to navigate artificial intelligence entirely on their own,鈥� Hester said.

Hester said square one for lawmakers is AI literacy, which was the aim of new legislation that she sponsored and that was signed into law in May. It requires an AI coordinator in each school system, a statewide AI professional development for teachers and AI literacy to be a component of career readiness and computer science standards for K-12 students. It also requires the state Department of Education to provide certain guidance on AI.

Many other states have also been trying to create AI policies for schools. Lawmakers filed more than 134 bills across 31 states this year related to AI in education, focusing on data privacy, usage restriction in the classroom, literacy and training, according to MultiState, a government relations firm.

A survey by the Center for Democracy & Technology showed that (85%) reported using AI in their classroom during the 2024-25 school year, while 86% of students said they鈥檇 used AI for either personal or school-related reasons. But only about half of teachers and students reported that they received some training or information about AI from someone at their school, and few received training or information on risks of AI use.

A turning point for schools came with the rollout of ChatGPT in 2022, said Noelle Ellerson Ng, chief advocacy and governance officer for the School Superintendents Association. 鈥淎I was something that could not be gatekept,鈥� said Ellerson Ng. 鈥淚t was in the classroom the minute students were able to access it.鈥�

Her association does not take positions on state AI bills or policies. But she said districts are trying to avoid knee-jerk, reactive policies such as New York City鈥檚 brief 2022 ban of ChatGPT because of fears about cheating.

Some states have made progress in laying the groundwork for AI policy in K-12.

Ohio has set a July 1 deadline for every school district, community school and STEM school to adopt an AI use policy. The state鈥檚 model policy recommends that districts address student and staff uses, privacy, ethical use, teacher-specific uses, vendor agreements, third-party AI tools and student assessments.

A new signed in March requires local school districts and charter schools to devise local policies for AI usage in K-12 schools, requires state standards for AI literacy and education training and ensures that no AI 鈥渞eplaces or eliminates a human teacher.鈥�

enacted last month requires AI tools to be age-appropriate and requires teachers to review anything AI produces before using it in the classroom. It also allows parents to opt their children out of using AI tools. The law also directs the state education department to develop AI guidance and requires local school boards to set policies before the 2027-28 school year.

Yet even as schools are being sold on AI products by numerous vendors, there鈥檚 a growing skepticism about AI in classrooms. It follows a similar backlash about social media and digital technology鈥檚 academic and mental health effects on students, which has led to more states and districts putting in place bans and rethinking their reliance on laptops.

In the Center for Democracy & Technology survey, half of students said using AI in class made them feel less connected to their teachers, and 70% of teachers said they were concerned that students鈥� use of AI was preventing them from learning important skills.

Schools need to weigh the benefits of adopting AI tools in the classroom against their effect on student privacy, mental health and social skills, said Sue Thotz, director of outreach for Common Sense Media, a nonprofit advocacy group focused on technology and its effect on children and families.

Schools, Thotz said, may be the 鈥渙nly mandated safe space鈥� where students can learn to use and access emerging technology. But she and other education experts believe districts need to increase scrutiny of products.

Globally, the market for AI products in K-12 schools was worth around $391.2 million in 2024, and could rise to more than $9 billion by 2034, , a market research company. That includes AI products for tutoring, personalized learning, automated grading, lesson planning and administrative tasks.

鈥淲hen I talk about AI literacy, it鈥檚 not how to use AI. It鈥檚 understanding how AI is built,鈥� said Thotz. 鈥淲hy is it being created? Who鈥檚 profiting off of this?鈥�

鈥楪iving a tool to children鈥�

New York Assemblymember Robert Carroll said he uses artificial intelligence in his own work and sees its value. As someone who struggled with dyslexia as a child, he also thinks technology can help students with disabilities.

But he also wants to keep AI out of most K-8 classroom instruction. Students should learn basic subject matter first 鈥� in conjunction with critical thinking 鈥� and then later use the tools that can assist them, he said.

Carroll, a Democrat, has that would prohibit the use of most AI in K-8 classrooms, with exceptions for diagnostic testing and support for students with disabilities.

鈥淚t is imperative that all children gain strong foundational skills, especially in literacy and numeracy, and it seems that AI is uniquely positioned to possibly undermine that,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a difference between giving a tool to adults and giving a tool to children who have yet to master skills.鈥�

Rather than full bans, most bills seeking to restrict AI have opted to focus on age restrictions, parental opt-outs, oversight and bans on using AI to replace teachers.

This year, Florida鈥檚 would have included a statewide restriction on student access to AI instructional tools before sixth grade, with exceptions for use supervised by school personnel, English-learner translation support and disability accommodations. It overwhelmingly passed the Senate 37-1, but died in the House.

A adds computer science to the required public school curriculum, including AI and emerging technologies. Connecticut lawmakers in 2025 failed to pass aiming to stop AI from 鈥渞eplacing鈥� public school educators.

Sophia Romee, the general manager of the GenAI Studio, an initiative studying how students and educators use generative AI at the College Board, the nonprofit that administers the Advanced Placement curriculum and SAT tests for high schools, said she is concerned that only that allow students to use generative AI have a formal policy governing its use.

The College Board鈥檚 research, Romee said, shows many students are worried about becoming too reliant on AI, and that adults need to give clearer guidance about where using AI tools for brainstorming, revising and tutoring crosses the ethical line into cheating.

鈥淪tudents are far more self-aware about AI鈥檚 risks than headlines suggest.鈥�

Like aviation in 1905

Jason Coley, director of the Center for Academic Innovation at Maria College in Albany, New York, said the policy debate needs to move beyond whether schools are 鈥渇or鈥� or 鈥渁gainst鈥� the use of AI.

鈥淭he better question is what kinds of AI use are supervised, age appropriate, transparent, and tied to real learning,鈥� Coley said. Schools need guardrails around privacy, student data, bias, teacher training and equity of access, he said, but also permission to 鈥渆xperiment responsibly.鈥�

Ellerson Ng, of the School Superintendents Association, said superintendents see AI as part of a larger umbrella of disruptive technologies in schools that has evolved from calculators to laptops to cellphones. The lesson, she said, is that overreactive policy rarely works. She also said schools should not cover AI in a separate policy, but as part of a broader technology policy.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 have a calculator policy. Why would I have an AI policy?鈥� she said, describing how some district leaders think about the issue. 鈥淚 have a technology policy.鈥�

With past technologies such as cellphones and laptops, adults could often control when students had access, Ellerson Ng said. With AI apps and platforms, many students accessed the tools before teachers, principals or state officials were even aware of them.

That makes bans difficult, she said. Schools can block tools on school-owned devices and networks, but 鈥測ou鈥檙e only one personal device away from social media and AI being in your schools.鈥�

Justin Reich, an associate professor of digital media at MIT, said that uncertainty around AI should make policymakers cautious about declaring best practices too soon.

Reich said states are trying to regulate classroom AI at a moment when the field is still so unstable that 鈥渨riting a guide for AI in 2026 is like writing a guide for aviation in 1905鈥� before airlines, airports or even commercial flight.

鈥淚f you were to take any of the AI literacy documents, AI readiness documents, even the moratorium documents, and put them against a checklist,鈥� said Reich, 鈥渢here would be a lot of boxes in the 鈥榳e鈥檙e making this up鈥� column and not a lot in the 鈥榳e have evidence鈥� column.鈥�

State lawmakers and school districts should be honest that they don鈥檛 know what they鈥檙e doing, are relying on limited expert information and that policy is subject to change with new information, Reich said.

鈥淟awmakers will need to be honest that what they propose now could be completely outdated in two years.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: [email protected].

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