During the 2025 legislative session, 53 bills on AI in education were proposed across 21 US states. Only four states — Illinois, Louisiana, Nevada, and New Mexico — enacted legislation. Only two states, Ohio and Tennessee, currently require school districts to have a formal AI policy. Ohio’s HB 96 mandates every school district adopt an AI policy by July 1, 2026, but does not specify what that policy must contain. The federal government has issued guidance oriented toward expanding AI use in schools rather than establishing guardrails; no federal curriculum standards or literacy requirements have been mandated.
Who it affects: K-12 school districts in states with active legislation face compliance obligations. In most states, schools operate without any binding rules on how AI may be used with students, how it must be disclosed, or what students should be taught about it.
What is notably missing: No state or federal mandate for AI literacy as core curriculum. No requirement for teachers to receive AI training. No standard for what students should understand about AI before leaving school. The regulatory focus is on how schools use AI tools, not on whether students are equipped to understand and question them. Of 53 bills proposed across 21 states, 4 were enacted; none of the four mandate AI literacy or ethics education.