Sponsor
The bill enables quicker adoption of AI training for students and educators—boosting digital literacy and safety—at the cost of redirecting limited education funds, imposing implementation burdens on smaller districts, and creating potential privacy and vendor-lock-in risks.
Students and K-12 educators will receive instruction and professional development on safe, effective, and responsible AI use, improving students' digital literacy, preparedness for AI-driven workplaces, and reducing harms from misuse or bias.
Students and school staff will experience improved safety and reduced privacy/bias risks because training emphasizes responsible AI use and mitigation practices.
State and local education agencies can reallocate existing federal education funds to adopt AI training without waiting for new appropriations, enabling faster local implementation.
Low-income students and other high-need programs may see federal education funds diverted toward AI training instead of remediation, special education, or basic supplies.
Small, rural, or resource-strapped school districts will face added procurement, curriculum, and trainer costs to implement AI instruction, which could strain budgets and widen equity gaps.
Students and schools could become dependent on proprietary AI systems, raising student data privacy risks and vendor lock-in if instruction is not carefully designed around privacy-preserving, interoperable tools.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows State and local use of existing ESEA funds for K–12 AI literacy instruction and professional development for school staff.
Representative · R-FL
Official title: To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to include certain curriculum expenses as permissible uses of funds, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 12, 2026 by Randy Fine · Last progress May 12, 2026
Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to explicitly allow State and local education agencies to use existing ESEA program funds for K–12 instruction on the safe, effective, and responsible use of artificial intelligence and for professional development so educators and school staff can teach and use AI safely. Definitions of "artificial intelligence" are linked to the National AI Initiative Act's statutory definition. The bill does not create a new grant program or appropriate new funds; it expands permissible uses of current federal education funding streams and adds AI literacy and educator training to allowable topics for professional development and instructional activities.