K–12 AI Literacy and Readiness Act of 2026
HB8747, titled the K–12 AI Literacy and Readiness Act of 2026, would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to make artificial intelligence-related curriculum and training an expressly permissible use of certain federal education funds. The bill adds AI instruction for students and AI professional development for educators and school staff as allowable uses under both state and local education funding provisions. It also specifies that AI should be taught and used in a manner that is safe, effective, and responsible.
More specifically, the bill would allow states and local educational agencies to use funds for student instruction on AI and for training teachers, paraprofessionals, school librarians and media personnel, specialized instructional support personnel, and administrators on how to use and teach AI. The bill ties the definition of artificial intelligence to an existing federal definition in the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020, which helps anchor the new education language in current federal law. The measure is framed as a curriculum and professional development update rather than a broader regulatory bill.
If enacted, the bill would amend sections 4104, 4107, and 4109 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to explicitly include AI literacy and AI-related professional development among permissible uses of federal education funds. That would expand the range of curriculum and training activities that states and local school systems may support with these funds, while leaving implementation to education agencies and schools. The bill would not itself mandate a specific AI curriculum, but it would remove any ambiguity about whether AI instruction and staff training are allowable expenditures.
The available record suggests generally favorable or at least constructive sentiment toward the bill’s goal of preparing K–12 schools for AI use, though no committee transcript or vote data is available to show detailed debate. The bill’s language emphasizes safety, effectiveness, and responsibility, indicating an effort to present AI literacy as a practical education readiness issue rather than a partisan technology fight. Because the bill has only been referred to committee and has no recorded votes in the provided materials, there is no evidence of formal opposition or support beyond the introduction itself.
The main potential points of contention are likely to center on how AI should be introduced into classrooms, what counts as age-appropriate or responsible AI use, and whether federal education funds should be directed toward technology-related curriculum priorities. Some stakeholders may favor the bill as a way to modernize instruction and workforce readiness, while others may worry about student data privacy, overreliance on AI tools, uneven school capacity, or the risk of encouraging adoption before strong safeguards are in place. The bill itself anticipates some of these concerns by requiring AI use and instruction to be safe, effective, and responsible, but it does not spell out detailed guardrails.