Prime Highlight:

• The California Department of Education released updated AI guidance for K–12 schools, focusing on safe, effective use while keeping teachers central to learning.
• The guidance emphasizes academic integrity, equity, and workforce readiness, encouraging schools to set clear rules and involve students in AI use.

Key Facts:

• Schools are urged to review how AI tools collect, store, and use student data, ensuring compliance with FERPA and COPPA.
• AI-generated content should not be treated as fully accurate; teachers must review it before grading or assessing.

Background

The California Department of Education (CDE) has issued updated guidance on the safe and effective use of artificial intelligence in public schools, as AI tools become more common in teaching, assessment, and school operations. The revised document covers transitional kindergarten through Grade 12 and adds to the recommendations first released in 2023.

The Department says the guidance helps schools understand both the benefits and limits of AI and ensures they follow state and federal laws. It is advisory in nature and does not create new requirements for schools or districts.

CDE said the update aligns with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond’s professional learning initiative. The Department emphasized that AI should help, not replace, the relationships between teachers and students. Human judgment, care, and connection remain central to learning, even as technology use expands.

The updated guidance places greater focus on data privacy and legal compliance. Schools are encouraged to closely review how AI tools collect, store, and use student data. The document urges vendors to be clear about who owns the data, how long it is kept, how it is deleted, and whether student data is used to train AI systems. Compliance with laws such as FERPA and COPPA remains mandatory.

Academic integrity also receives increased attention. Instead of banning AI tools, CDE advises schools to clearly explain what students can and cannot do with them. Schools should involve students in making these rules and help them understand the risks and limits of AI.

The update tells schools to closely watch classroom AI tools and not treat AI-generated content as fully accurate. Teachers should always review it, especially when grading or assessing students.

CDE reinforced equity and workforce readiness as key goals, stressing that unequal access to AI education could widen existing digital gaps.

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