A group of 98 high school juniors and seniors gathered at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate in Boston during a late-July weekend to address an issue that has eluded national lawmakers: creating comprehensive policy guidelines for artificial intelligence use in K-12 schools. The students, each representing a state, convened in a full-scale replica of the U.S. Senate chamber to debate and ultimately pass the Students First Act by a vote of 82-16.
The exercise emerged from a recognition that adults have struggled to establish clear rules governing AI in educational settings. Currently, no national policy exists, leaving individual states and school districts to develop their own frameworks. Students involved in the simulation emphasized that policymakers had been slow to address risks associated with previous technological developments. The event was organized by several groups including the Edward M. Kennedy Institute, the American Association of School Administrators, and Day of AI, a nonprofit affiliated with MIT’s artificial intelligence literacy initiative.
The resulting legislation addresses multiple dimensions of AI in schools. Key provisions include requiring states to provide AI literacy instruction when students gain access to classroom devices, banning AI use on graded tests, and permitting teachers to request oral defenses of student work suspected of involving inappropriate AI use. The bill also established guidelines for educators and parents, though the student lawmakers ultimately rejected proposals giving parents absolute veto power over their children’s AI access, arguing that students need to learn how to use the technology responsibly.
Deliberation throughout the weekend reflected real-world tensions in education policy. Students grappled with questions about resource constraints, noting that some schools lack sufficient funding to implement new AI literacy requirements. Debate also intensified over whether AI-powered chatbots should alert school officials if students disclosed sensitive information about mental health crises, with the final provision requiring such alerts despite student concerns about privacy and disclosure.
While the Students First Act has no binding legal force, the American Association of School Administrators plans to distribute the legislation to its 10,000 member school leaders across the country. Many of these educators are currently developing their own AI policies in the absence of federal regulation, making the student-drafted proposal a potential reference point for real institutional change.
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