Teachers need professional training to safely and effectively use artificial intelligence in classrooms, according to bipartisan lawmakers and advocates at a U.S. House subcommittee hearing last week, K-12 Dive reported.
But Democratic legislators on the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education said that the Trump administration’s closure of the Office of Educational Technology would make new training nearly impossible.
“Historically, the department has helped provide critical resources to assist states, schools and districts in navigating technological challenges,” said Ranking Member Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon. “And what this administration has done to the department has diminished or even obliterated its capacity to provide these resources.”
Bonamici had proposed a legislative framework on AI education and workforce readiness in January, which includes evidence-based professional development resources to help educators understand the opportunities and risks of AI in classrooms, Bonamici said.
Over half of teens say they’ve used AI chatbots to help with schoolwork, according to a Pew Research Center poll released on Feb. 24. The California Department of Education formed its first Artificial Intelligence Working Group last September to study how AI can be safely and effectively used in classrooms, following California’s passage of Senate Bill 1288, which mandates a statewide strategy to AI in education.
Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., pointed to the “dizzying pace” of AI and that today’s guidance from AI experts may be outdated by next week. He said professional development can mitigate risks to students’ critical thinking skills and data privacy.
“I think there’s probably more of a role that we can play here in trying to expand access to high-quality, up-to-date professional development,” Kiley said.
Michele Blatt, state superintendent of schools in West Virginia, said that through the West Virginia Department of Education’s professional learning management system, teachers have quickly learned how to use AI tools to save time.
“While the professional learning and the effective use of this technology is important, it’s not taking the level of training that we’ve seen with other things that we’ve rolled out in the state,” Blatt said.