TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Artificial intelligence is getting a permission slip in Florida’s public school classrooms.
Under rules approved Wednesday by the State Board of Education, parents will have to opt in before public and charter school students interact directly with AI instructional tools. Students whose families decline must receive a comparable alternative without AI.
WATCH BELOW: Florida adopts classroom AI rules
Public school districts and charter schools have until July 1, 2027, to adopt and implement the required policies. Central Florida Public Media.
Gov. Ron DeSantis promoted the requirements during a Thursday appearance in Melbourne, saying technology should supplement classroom instruction.
“We are not going to be displacing a classroom teacher with machines,” DeSantis said. “We're going to continue to value the human experience in education, and not sacrifice that at the altar of technology.”
The rules require schools to notify parents when an AI instructional tool is approved, including which tool students would use, the courses involved and how students would interact with it. Tools used with children in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade face additional review for age and developmental appropriateness.
The requirements also prohibit instructional chatbots designed to simulate friendship or emotional relationships with students, undisclosed psychological profiling and vendors selling student data.
The board also approved rules for Florida College System institutions. Their policies must prohibit students from using AI on graded assignments or tests unless an instructor explicitly authorizes it.
Education Commissioner Henry Mack said the concern is whether students are developing their own understanding when they turn to AI for answers.
“So if a course is designed to cultivate critical thinking, we do not want AI doing that on behalf of the learner,” Mack said.
Florida Education Association Vice President Carole Gauronskas has expressed support for the policies overall while questioning how much additional work implementation could create for school districts.
Gauronskas urged the board to seek more input as schools prepare.
“We encourage this board to convene a panel of experts, including parents, guardians, and come up with more guidance and guardrails just to make sure that that human touch is there,” she said.
Teachers and administrators will also need training on AI’s risks, limitations, safety and compliance requirements. Many districts already have AI policies but will need to align them with the new statewide requirements.
Asked Thursday about support for schools, including rural districts, Mack said the Department of Education would organize work groups, coordinate with superintendents and provide resources to help carry out the rules.
