For this phase of the plan, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is developing resources to help schools build a shared understanding of how AI works, train staff on AI integration and student data privacy, and create AI usage guidelines and policies, according to the news release.
Those resources are expected to be published this summer, according to the website of the DESE Office of Educational Technology (OET), which led an AI task force last year to produce recommendations for the department’s AI integration plan.
The goal of those recommendations and the plan they helped shape, which OET refers to as an “AI road map,” is to outline what steps the state education department will take to support K-12 schools as they “navigate the opportunities and challenges that AI presents,” according to the announcement from DESE.
“Massachusetts has long been a global leader in both technological innovation and education,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a public statement. “This strategy will help equip students with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in tomorrow’s economy and to engage thoughtfully with these powerful tools.”
The second phase of the strategy, intended to support the implementation of AI and slated to take place during the 2025-26 school year, will include state-sponsored AI workshops and trainings, technical assistance, and specific tool recommendations.
“Through the availability of a trusted, centralized resource for identifying appropriate AI tools, DESE would provide educators with the information needed to reduce the risk of using harmful or ineffective AI solutions while supporting more equitable access to high-quality AI educational resources,” according to the task force recommendations.
The OET website shows that the final phase of the plan, set for the 2026-27 school year, will see DESE working to “embed AI” across educator preparation programs and state curricula.
“Without clear guidance on what students need to know and be able to do at each grade level, educators are left to their own perspective in determining how and when to integrate AI literacy. This currently results in students having drastically different experiences from classroom to classroom,” the recommendations state. “The AI Task Force recommends DESE review its curricular frameworks, including but not limited to digital literacy and computer science, for opportunities to add explicit standards for AI literacy across grade levels and subject areas.”
Richard Culatta, CEO of the nonprofit International Society for Technology in Education and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ISTE+ASCD), lauded Massachusetts for taking an “intentional and inclusive approach to addressing the complexity of AI in education.”
“The strategies DESE is initiating will support educators in using AI to provide transformational learning experiences while creating environments for safe, responsible and ethical use,” Culatta said in a public statement.
ISTE+ASCD worked with DESE to convene its AI task force last year, the OET website states, and to launch a cohort of local education agencies for the development of strategies for AI integration that can be shared across the state.
