A group of 98 high school juniors and seniors convened during a late-July weekend at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate in Boston to develop artificial intelligence policies for the nation’s K-12 schools. The students, representing all 50 states, operated within a full-scale replica of the U.S. Senate chamber and addressed questions that have largely eluded adult policymakers: whether students should use AI on assignments and tests, and how schools should integrate AI literacy into curricula.
The student lawmakers divided into subcommittees focused on students, educators, administrators, and families to debate proposed policies. Their final bill, the Students First Act, passed 82-16 and included requirements that states provide AI literacy instruction as soon as students access classroom devices, ban AI use on all graded tests, and allow teachers to require oral defenses of projects suspected of involving inappropriate AI use. The bill also established that teachers must personally investigate potential AI misuse before reporting students to administrators.
Debates during the weekend revealed familiar tensions in education policy. Students grappled with funding inequities when some senators argued that requiring AI literacy instruction would burden under-resourced teachers and schools, ultimately proposing federal funding support. Discussions also addressed parental involvement, with some senators initially pushing for parental veto power over student AI access before others argued that many adults lack AI knowledge and such restrictions could disadvantage students.
A particularly contentious exchange concerned student use of school-based chatbots for emotional support. Some senators prioritized student privacy regarding sensitive disclosures, while others emphasized that systems should alert school officials if a student expressed suicidal thoughts or mental health crises. The group ultimately sided with safety protocols requiring chatbots to alert school officials rather than respond to such requests.
Although the Students First Act lacks binding legal authority, the School Superintendents Association plans to distribute the bill’s text to its 10,000 members nationwide, many of whom are currently developing their own AI policies amid the absence of federal regulation. Organizers included the Edward M. Kennedy Institute, AASA, and Day of AI, a nonprofit launched from MIT’s RAISE AI literacy initiative.
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