Schools lag in preparing teachers and students for the impact of the unprecedented technological shift that’s been ushered in by artificial intelligence (AI), according to a new report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE).
In April 2024, CRPE convened more than 60 state and federal policymakers, edtech leaders, local educational agency officials and advocates to discuss how AI can drive meaningful and positive change in education.
The report — Wicked Opportunities: Leveraging AI to Transform Education — highlights insights from the forum, and underscores the need for robust, forward-thinking policies and practices to navigate the integration of technology in classrooms in a way that promotes equity and access, particularly for historically marginalized communities.
While the potential impact of AI on the education sector is still unfolding, the technology will undoubtedly disrupt education in significant ways alongside other “wicked problems” — defined as “challenges with many interdependent factors making them seem impossible to solve” — such as extreme weather, increasing political extremism, rising inequality and a rapidly shifting workforce, according to the report.
“As we think about orienting our education system toward the unknown, it’s important to remember that innovation often comes from seeing problems differently,” the report states. “In that spirit, we must see AI not merely as a tool to fit into existing structures but instead as a lever to enable needed change in our education system. Like other sectors, we could make a giant leap to galvanize this charge. The possibilities are limited only by our imagination.”
Among the key takeaways, the report urges state and local leaders to:
- Think big about how AI can transform education and develop a clear vision for the future with an understanding of the role technology may play to help realize that vision.
- Help districts use AI strategically by helping to identify priorities and streamline funds for proven AI-enabled tools and strategies designed to solve specific problems.
- Allocate funds to support and test AI initiatives, particularly in low-income and historically marginalized communities.
- Provide detailed, actionable implementation strategies to help LEAs navigate AI adoption effectively through technical assistance and research partnerships.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, only 15 states had developed AI guidance for schools as of June, and that guidance is often disjointed and lacks details about use cases and implementation. The department itself is expected to release an AI resource bank for schools this fall, but as the report notes, the federal government has addressed AI through executive orders that provide little specific guidance for schools.
To support LEAs as they work to implement AI, the CRPE report includes a roadmap with proposed solutions including:
- Convene state, federal and local government, education and edtech leaders to establish best practices in AI use.
- Create a leadership network to drive change during uncertain times and develop a comprehensive strategy to connect leaders across the AI and education sectors including students, community and civil rights leaders, educators and school system leaders, policy advocates and business and edtech leaders.
- Form a collaborative of leading LEAs, technical support organizations, researchers and foundations to rethink and redesign schools and education systems that support a greater understanding of AI technology while reducing teachers’ administrative workloads and curating student interests to boost engagement.
- Design a philanthropic fund that advances a clear vision for AI’s potential to reimagine teaching, learning and students’ futures, especially for students who urgently need learning acceleration, mental health support and more with input from diverse voices and perspectives to finetune the fund’s priorities. Additionally, create grants to incentivize state education offices to fund preliminary local conversations about AI between LEAs and their stakeholders.
