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Explainer

What the federal government has done on AI in education

Federal action on AI in schools and colleges has come mostly through an executive order and the Education Department's grant rules. Congress has passed no AI-in-education bill this session, and a proposed accreditation rule would add a new expectation for colleges.

By Edictai18 October 2026Data as of October 2026

Key points

  • Executive Order 14277 of April 2025 set a policy of promoting AI education and told the Education Department to issue guidance on using grant funds for AI.
  • The department's July 2025 letter says formula and discretionary grants may pay for AI instructional materials, AI-enhanced tutoring and AI advising, if systems comply with privacy law.
  • A final grant priority, effective May 13, 2026, lets the department favor AI projects in any discretionary grant competition.
  • None of the 53 bills in the current Congress that Edictai tracks has become law; three have passed one chamber.

The federal government does not set curriculum or write school policy. What it does on AI in education happens mainly through executive orders, the Education Department's grant programs and regulations that attach to federal funding. This explainer sets out what those tools have produced, as recorded by Edictai in October 2026.

Two executive orders

Executive Order 14110, signed in October 2023, was a government-wide order on AI safety. Its education section told the Secretary of Education to develop resources, policies and guidance on AI, including an AI toolkit for education leaders1. It was revoked in January 2025.

Executive Order 14277, signed on April 23, 2025, is aimed at education. It created the White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Education, chaired by the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy2. It gave the Secretary of Education 90 days to issue guidance on using formula and discretionary grant funds to improve outcomes with AI3, and told the department to prioritize AI in discretionary teacher-training grants, including professional development so educators can bring AI fundamentals into all subjects4. It also directed the Secretary of Labor to grow registered apprenticeships in AI-related occupations5.

What grant money can pay for

The department's guidance came as a Dear Colleague letter on July 22, 2025. It says grant funds may be used for AI-based instructional materials, AI-enhanced high-impact tutoring, and AI for college and career pathway exploration and advising, where consistent with each program's rules. It sets principles for responsible use, including that systems must comply with federal privacy laws such as FERPA6, and calls for tools to be accessible to people with disabilities7.

Grant priorities

Grant priorities are how the department tilts its discretionary competitions. A supplemental priority on advancing AI in education was proposed in July 2025 and made final in April 2026, effective May 13, 2026. The Secretary may use it in any discretionary competition. Projects it covers include professional development on bringing AI fundamentals into subject areas8 and AI courses and in-demand certification programs for high school students9.

A separate final priority on meaningful learning opportunities, published in February 2026, covers high-impact tutoring whose delivery models may include AI10. Some individual competitions have built AI in directly. The fiscal year 2025 Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education Special Projects competition dedicated two of its seven absolute priorities to AI in postsecondary education11. One of them covers embedding AI and computer science in teacher preparation programs12.

Table 1. Federal executive and Education Department actions on AI in education
DateActionRecord
30 Oct 2023Executive order on AI safety directs Education Department resources on AI (revoked January 2025)EO 14110
29 Apr 2024Title IX rule; preamble covers AI-generated intimate images (since vacated and repealed)Title IX final rule
23 Apr 2025Executive order on AI education for American youthEO 14277
21 Jul 2025Proposed supplemental priority on AI in educationProposed priority
22 Jul 2025Dear Colleague letter on using grant funds for AIDear Colleague letter
29 Aug 2025Common instructions let grant applicants use AI but hold them to the accuracy of what they submitCommon instructions
12 Nov 2025FIPSE Special Projects competition with two AI prioritiesFIPSE notice
12 Feb 2026Final priority on meaningful learning opportunitiesFinal priority
13 Apr 2026Final supplemental priority on AI in educationFinal priority
20 Aug 2026Proposed accreditation rule; preamble on AI and teachingProposed rule

Source: Edictai records, October 2026.

Rules that mention AI

Two regulations address AI in their explanatory preambles rather than in their rule text. The Title IX rule published in April 2024 explains that online sex-based harassment schools must address can include the nonconsensual distribution of intimate images, including images altered or generated by AI13. That rule is no longer in force: a federal court vacated it in January 2025, and the Department repealed it in September 2026.

A proposed rule on the Secretary's recognition of accrediting agencies, published on August 20, 2026, discusses AI in explaining a research-misconduct standard. Its preamble states that agencies and institutions must ensure “artificial intelligence is not used by faculty to supplant teaching and instruction”14. It is a proposal, not a final rule.

Congress

Edictai records 53 bills on AI in education in the 119th Congress. As of October 2026, none has become law, three have passed one chamber and the rest are in committee. Several would add AI to existing grant programs. The K-12 AI Literacy and Readiness Act, introduced in both chambers, would let Student Support and Academic Enrichment funds pay for instruction on the safe, effective and responsible use of AI15.

Others target privacy and safety. The LIFE with AI Act would make federal funding depend on schools barring the use of student photographs to train facial recognition systems without parental consent16. The Protecting Kids from Human-Like Chatbots Act, introduced on October 1, 2026, would give schools control over chatbot settings in school-managed deployments17.

Notes

  1. United States, EO 14110, Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (Signed 30 Oct 2023). Sec. 8(d).the Secretary of Education shall, within 365 days of the date of this order, develop resources, policies, and guidance regarding AI
  2. United States, EO 14277, Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth (Signed 23 Apr 2025). Sec. 4(a)-(b).There is hereby established the White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Education (Task Force).
  3. United States, EO 14277, Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth (Signed 23 Apr 2025). Sec. 6(c).the Secretary of Education shall issue guidance regarding the use of formula and discretionary grant funds to improve education outcomes using AI
  4. United States, EO 14277, Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth (Signed 23 Apr 2025). Sec. 7(a).providing professional development for all educators, so they can integrate the fundamentals of AI into all subject areas
  5. United States, EO 14277, Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth (Signed 23 Apr 2025). Sec. 8(a), 8(d).Prioritizing the development and growth of Registered Apprenticeships in AI-related occupations.
  6. United States, Guidance on the Use of Federal Grant Funds to Improve Education Outcomes Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) (Published 22 Jul 2025). Principles for Responsible Use.Systems must comply with federal privacy laws including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
  7. United States, Guidance on the Use of Federal Grant Funds to Improve Education Outcomes Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) (Published 22 Jul 2025). Principles for Responsible Use.including children, educators, providers, and family members with disabilities
  8. United States, Final Priority and Definitions-Secretary's Supplemental Priority and Definitions on Advancing Artificial Intelligence in Education (Published 13 Apr 2026). Final Priority (a)(v), 91 FR 18778.Provide professional development for educators on the integration of the fundamentals of AI into their respective subject areas
  9. United States, Final Priority and Definitions-Secretary's Supplemental Priority and Definitions on Advancing Artificial Intelligence in Education (Published 13 Apr 2026). Final Priority (a)(viii), 91 FR 18779.Create opportunities for high school students through the development or expansion of AI courses and career-relevant, in-demand certification programs
  10. United States, Final Priority and Definitions-Secretary's Supplemental Priority and Definitions on Meaningful Learning Opportunities (Published 12 Feb 2026). Final Priority, part (b).and which include innovative delivery models or approaches, that may include outcomes-based contracting, artificial intelligence (AI), technology-enabled platforms, or strategic partnerships and staffing
  11. United States, Applications for New Awards; Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education-Special Projects (FIPSE-SP) (Published 12 Nov 2025). Purpose of Program.two priorities dedicated to advancing the understanding and use of AI in postsecondary education (Absolute Priorities 1 and 2)
  12. United States, Applications for New Awards; Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education-Special Projects (FIPSE-SP) (Published 12 Nov 2025). Absolute Priority 2, part (b).Embed AI and computer science into an institution of higher education's general preservice or in-service teacher professional development or teacher preparation programs
  13. United States, Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance (Published 29 Apr 2024). Preamble discussion of Sec. 106.6(d), online harassment.the nonconsensual distribution of intimate images (including authentic images and images that have been altered or generated by artificial intelligence (AI) technologies), cyberstalking, sending sex-based pictures or cartoons
  14. United States, Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization: The Secretary's Recognition of Accrediting Agencies: Institutional Eligibility Under the Higher Education Act of 1965, as Amended, Student Assistance General Provisions (Published 20 Aug 2026). Preamble discussion of Sec. 602.17.However, we also believe agencies and institutions must ensure that artificial intelligence is not used by faculty to supplant teaching and instruction.
  15. United States, H.R. 8747, K–12 AI Literacy and Readiness Act of 2026 (In committee, 12 May 2026). Sec. 2(a).the use of artificial intelligence (as defined in section 5002 of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9401)) in a manner that is safe, effective, and responsible; or
  16. United States, S. 3063, LIFE with AI Act Learning Innovation and Family Empowerment with AI Act (In committee, 28 Oct 2025). Sec. 5(a), new FERPA 444(k)(1).the use of student photographs for training facial recognition systems, including those using artificial intelligence, without prior parental consent
  17. United States, H.R. 10719, Protecting Kids from Human-Like Chatbots Act (In committee, 1 Oct 2026). Sec. 2(a)(1)(B).maintains a parental controls frame- work that enables a parent or legal guardian, or, with respect to a school-managed deploy- ment, the educational agency or institution or

About this article

Written by Claude, an AI model, from Edictai’s records and research library. Before publication, every note is checked automatically against the record or study it cites. Descriptions are as of the data release named above.

Corrections: none.

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