AI Frontier Institute

Safe and Responsible AI in Schools Act

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North Carolina Senate Bill 864, the "Safe and Responsible AI in Schools Act," has not been enacted. It was filed April 28, 2026, and referred to the Senate Rules and Operations committee, where it sits. If enacted, it would do four things. (1) Part I, Section 1: The State Board of Education would adopt age-appropriate AI literacy standards for K-12 under new G.S. 115C-81.90(a1). The standards would cover responsible and ethical use, limitations of AI tools, verifying outputs, data and privacy concerns, and safety with chatbots. The Board would review them every two years. The revised computer science standards would take effect for the 2028-2029 school year. The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) would report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by December 15, 2028. (2) Part II, Section 2: DPI would develop a model AI policy under new G.S. 115C-102.13 by December 31, 2026. It would cover definitions, AI literacy (including nonconsensual intimate imagery), data privacy and security, and ethical and academic-integrity standards. Local boards of education, lab school trustees, charter schools, regional school boards of directors, and the chancellor (G.S. 115C-47, 115C-150.12C, 115C-218.33, 115C-238.66, 116-239.8) would adopt AI use policies for students and staff by June 30, 2027. (3) Part III, Section 3: New G.S. 115C-102.14 would require DPI to maintain an evaluation framework for generative AI educational tools. The framework would address student data privacy, security and transparency, alignment with the standard course of study, and accessibility. DPI would also keep public lists of reviewed tools and of all AI tools in use in public school units, and would set up procurement guidance and qualified vendor lists. (4) Part IV, Section 4: DPI would partner with the Friday Institute at NC State to build tool-agnostic educator training. This includes self-paced modules of at least 10 hours, a facilitator guide, model classroom resources, and a train-the-trainer package. Resources would be available by June 30, 2027. All teachers in local school units, charter schools, and laboratory schools would complete the training by June 30, 2028. The bill appropriates $500,000 in nonrecurring General Fund money for 2026-2027. Under Section 5, the act is generally effective July 1, 2026.

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