Artificial Intelligence Education and Workforce Readiness Act of 2026

(a) Guidance required. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, shall issue guidance on the safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education, which shall address—

(1) the application of artificial intelligence ethics (as defined in section 3) to the use of generative artificial intelligence tools by students and educators, including pedagogical practices that support the responsible use of such tools;

(2) safeguards against harmful content generated or surfaced by artificial intelligence tools, which may include such content related to self-harm, disordered eating, harassment, graphic violence, sexual abuse or harassment, and substance abuse, and which shall seek to—

(A) minimize, to the extent appropriate—

(i) such safeguards that would restrict or inhibit instruction; and

(ii) such safeguards for which noncompliance would necessitate excessive law enforcement contact or disciplinary action; and

(B) ensure the clarity and interpretability of such safeguards, and avoid duplication, with respect to similar guidance, definitions, requirements, or regulations issued by the Federal Communications Commission; and

(3) procedures for parental notification and opt-out with respect to specific applications of artificial intelligence that materially affect student learning or assessment, consistent with section 6(b)(D).

(b) Model documents. To support the implementation of the guidance issued under subsection (a), the Secretary of Education shall develop and publicly disseminate—

(1) model contract clauses for use by State educational agencies, local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, community or junior colleges, and area career and technical education schools, for procuring artificial intelligence tools for use in education;

(2) family consent templates for use in connection with the parental notification and opt-out procedures described in subsection (a)(3);

(3) model policies, which shall be illustrative and not prescriptive, for the purpose of mitigating abuses of artificial intelligence in educational activities, including—

(A) academic dishonesty by students, educators, faculty, staff, or other education leaders enabled by the use of artificial intelligence; and

(B) the misuse of personally identifiable student information and data by educators, faculty, staff, or other education leaders;

(4) educator checklists to support the safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence tools in education, consistent with the guidance issued under subsection (a); and

(5) such other model documents as the Secretary determines necessary to support the implementation of the guidance issued under subsection (a).

(c) Updates. The guidance issued under subsection (a) shall be reviewed not less than once every 2 years and updated as necessary to reflect changes in technology and uses related to artificial intelligence tools in education.