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Maryland AI Ready Schools Act (HB 1057) Enacted — Binding Mandate with Dedicated Funding

RegionMaryland
DateMay 13, 2026
StatusEnacted — effective June 1, 2026
Sourcehttps://legiscan.com/MD/bill/HB1057/2026
k12ai-literacylegislationbindingteacher-trainingworkforcefunding

Maryland’s Artificial Intelligence Ready Schools Act (HB 1057) passed both chambers of the Maryland General Assembly by 11 April 2026 and takes effect on 1 June 2026. The law is crossfiled with Senate Bill 720.

Key provisions:

  • The State Department of Education is required to develop and publish comprehensive AI guidance for K-12 school systems, educators, parents, and students through an online platform.
  • Every county board of education must designate an AI coordinator responsible for overseeing AI use within the local school system.
  • AI literacy is explicitly integrated into workforce development and educator training standards.
  • A statewide AI Education Collaborative is established, with university-supported certification of compliant AI tools.
  • Dedicated General Fund expenditure of $1.05 million in FY 2027 is attached to the mandate, primarily for staffing the collaborative.

Score note: This legislation converts Maryland’s previously partial position on K-12 AI literacy into a binding state mandate with dedicated funding. Dim 1 and 2 both upgrade from partial to binding. Dim 4 upgrades as educator AI training is now required under law with funding attached. Dim 5 upgrades to reflect dedicated General Fund spending. Dim 13 upgrades to 1 because the State DoE is mandated to provide AI guidance through an online public platform.

Who it affects: All 24 Maryland county school systems and their educators, students, and parents. AI coordinators will be designated in every district.

What is notably missing: The law does not mandate a specific AI literacy curriculum for students — it requires guidance and literacy integration into workforce standards but stops short of a student-facing curriculum mandate with defined content standards. Ethics components are not explicitly mandated, only implicitly expected through tool evaluation criteria. No enforcement mechanism specifically for AI training compliance is established.