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Artificial intelligence arrived in American classrooms before school boards had any plan for it — and lawmakers across the country are now working to catch up. For Idaho families and educators, that scramble is already producing concrete changes, with a new state law signed earlier this year setting baseline requirements for how schools handle AI tools in the classroom.
Why It Matters
Idaho’s law, signed in March, requires local school districts and charter schools to develop their own AI usage policies. The legislation also establishes state standards for AI literacy and training for educators, and includes a firm prohibition: no AI system may replace or eliminate a human teacher. For Idaho parents concerned about technology outrunning accountability in public schools, the law provides an early framework — though the harder work of implementation now falls to individual districts.
The broader national picture shows just how far policy has lagged behind practice. Roughly 85 percent of teachers reported using AI tools in the classroom during the 2024–25 school year, and 86 percent of students said they had used AI for personal or school-related purposes. Yet only about half of teachers and half of students said they had received any formal training on AI from their schools. Even fewer received instruction on the risks.
What Happened
More than 134 bills touching on AI in education were introduced across 31 states this year, addressing areas ranging from student data privacy and usage restrictions to AI literacy requirements and teacher training. The volume of legislation reflects how quickly generative AI tools spread after ChatGPT became publicly available in 2022 — catching most districts without policies in place.
Noelle Ellerson Ng, chief advocacy and governance officer at the School Superintendents Association, described the challenge bluntly: “AI was something that could not be gatekept. It was in the classroom the minute students were able to access it.”
New York City briefly banned ChatGPT in 2022 over cheating concerns, but that approach proved difficult to sustain. States have since moved toward structured frameworks rather than outright bans.
Maryland enacted one of the more comprehensive state-level responses. Legislation sponsored by state Sen. Katie Fry Hester, signed into law in May, requires an AI coordinator in every school system, mandates statewide professional development for teachers, and directs the state Department of Education to issue formal guidance. The law also adds AI literacy to career readiness and computer science standards for K-12 students. Fry Hester said the message she heard from educators was consistent: teachers were being left to figure out AI on their own, with little institutional support.
Ohio set a July 1 deadline requiring districts to adopt AI use policies, with a model framework addressing student and staff use, privacy protections, ethical use standards, vendor agreements, and third-party tools. Oklahoma passed a law last month requiring that AI tools be age-appropriate, that teachers review AI-generated content before it reaches students, and that parents have the ability to opt their children out of AI tools entirely. Oklahoma school boards must have policies in place before the 2027–28 school year.
Florida’s proposed “AI Bill of Rights” would have restricted student access to AI instructional tools before sixth grade. The measure passed the state Senate 37–1 but did not advance in the House. Connecticut added AI and emerging technologies to a required computer science curriculum, though a separate effort to bar AI from replacing educators did not pass in 2025.
By the Numbers
- 134+ AI-in-education bills filed in 31 states this year
- 85% of teachers used AI in class during 2024–25; 86% of students used it for school or personal reasons
- Only about 1 in 5 districts permitting generative AI have a formal governing policy
- 50% of students said AI use in class made them feel less connected to their teachers
- 70% of teachers expressed concern that student AI use was preventing mastery of core skills
- The global AI products market in K-12 schools was valued at $391.2 million in 2024, with projections suggesting it could surpass $9 billion by 2034
Zoom Out
The policy gaps extend beyond Idaho and its neighbors. Nationally, only about one in five school districts that allow generative AI have a formal policy governing its use — a striking imbalance given how deeply the technology has already penetrated classrooms. The rapid growth of the K-12 AI market, potentially expanding more than twentyfold over the next decade, suggests the window for proactive regulation is narrowing fast. Oregon, which has faced its own debates over technology in schools, is also navigating related pressures — including questions about how AI-driven data infrastructure shapes public costs and resources.
What’s Next
In Idaho, the work of translating state law into local policy now rests with individual districts and charter schools. Implementation timelines and the specifics of AI literacy standards are still being developed at the state level. Nationally, additional state legislatures are expected to take up AI-in-education measures when sessions convene or resume, and the federal government has signaled interest in the issue, though no comprehensive federal framework has emerged. Educators, parents, and administrators will be watching closely to see whether new rules keep pace with technology that continues to evolve semester by semester.
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