As of April 2026, 134 bills related to AI in education have been introduced across 31 US state legislatures. Six states have enacted AI education laws so far, with legislation pending in at least twelve more. The bills cluster around three themes: data privacy guardrails for AI tools in classrooms, restrictions on automated decision-making affecting students, and curriculum integration mandating AI literacy instruction.
Notable enacted or advancing measures include Maryland’s requirement for local school systems to adopt AI policies and promote AI literacy, with designated AI coordinators and university-supported certification of AI tools; New Jersey’s mandate requiring school districts to incorporate AI instruction into K-12 curricula and requiring public universities to offer AI certificate and degree programmes; and Hawaii’s SB 2212, which would require all high school juniors and seniors to complete a six-week AI literacy course from 2027-28.
The pace of state-level activity stands in contrast to the federal approach, which has not proposed a mandatory national AI literacy curriculum. The FutureEd legislative tracker and Education Commission of the States both document growing state momentum toward codifying AI literacy as a curricular expectation.
Who it affects: Public school systems in the 31 states with active legislation, as well as higher education institutions subject to new AI programme requirements.
What is notably missing: Only six of the 134 bills have been enacted. Most bills focus on guardrails and guidance rather than binding curriculum mandates with dedicated funding. No state has yet attached a standalone funding stream specifically to AI literacy instruction.