SCHOOLS: Prohibits the use of deepfake material against students enrolled in K-12. (8/1/26)
SB 346 creates a new law in the education code prohibiting the use of deepfake material against K-12 students by students, faculty, administrative staff, or other school employees. The bill targets the use of altered audio or visual media when it is used with the intent to coerce, harass, intimidate, or maliciously disseminate or sell the material. It applies to elementary and secondary schools and is aimed at conduct occurring in the school environment or involving school personnel and students.
The bill defines “deepfake” broadly as electronically created, altered, or digitally manipulated audio or video that would falsely appear to a reasonable observer to be an authentic recording of a real person’s speech or conduct, or that replaces one person’s likeness with another. It also includes an express exclusion for material with political, public interest, or newsworthy value, including commentary, criticism, satire, or parody, as well as content that clearly discloses it is not a real event. The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, working with the Department of Education, is directed to adopt rules and regulations to implement the law.
SB 346 enacts R.S. 17:416.14.1, adding a new prohibition to Louisiana law governing elementary and secondary schools. It creates a school-specific restriction on the misuse of deepfake media and gives BESE and the Department of Education authority to develop implementing rules. The law affects students, teachers, administrators, and other school employees, and it may be used to support disciplinary or administrative responses to harmful digital impersonation or harassment in K-12 settings.
The bill appears to have received strong and unanimous support in both chambers, passing the Senate 35-0 and the House 91-0 before being signed by the governor as Act 496. The voting record suggests broad agreement that schools should have protections against the misuse of manipulated digital media targeting students. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate in the supplied materials.
No notable opposition is reflected in the provided record, and both final passage votes were unanimous. The main policy issue embedded in the bill is the scope of the deepfake definition and the carve-out for political, public interest, newsworthy, satire, parody, and clearly disclosed content. Those exceptions appear designed to avoid overbreadth and First Amendment concerns, while still allowing the state to address harmful impersonation, harassment, and intimidation in schools.