Developed under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Education, the Framework for Responsible AI Integration in PreK-20 Education, released earlier this month, is freely available and intended to be adaptable to diverse community needs, according to a news release.
Co-authors James Basham, Eleazar Vasquez and Angelica Fulchini Scruggs said they plan to continuously support educators in implementing the framework to best benefit schools, students and their communities, in the release.
WHY IT MATTERS
As AI tools become increasingly embedded in the workplace and everyday life, schools are under growing pressure to prepare students for an AI-powered world. CIDDL's new framework, it said, is designed as a practical guide for educators from preschool through higher education navigating the fast-changing AI landscape.
“AI plays a vital role in helping educators personalize learning for students while also streamlining their work, allowing them to focus more time and energy on building a stronger, future-ready education system,” the authors said in the report introduction.
At the same time, education leaders face questions about how to ensure AI tools are used ethically, equitably, and in ways that support learning.
“Without thoughtful planning, AI’s potential to support teaching, learning, and school operations may be overshadowed by unintended consequences such as a lack of access, overreliance on automation, and data misuse,” the authors said in the report.
The framework, they said, “provides a structured and actionable approach for PreK-20 education to adopt AI tools to enhance instructional practices, protect student rights, and empower educators, ensuring technology serves as a tool for human betterment.”
FOUR MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS
The CIDDL framework offers four core recommendations for educators. First, it recommends establishing a stable, human-centered foundation, keeping human judgment at the center of AI integration in education, ensuring transparency in how tools operate and make decisions.
This, the authors said, can be achieved by prioritizing educator judgment, student relationships and family input in AI-enabled processes; not over-relying on automation for decisions that affect learning trajectories, behavioral responses, or instructional placement; and ensuring transparency and compliance with applicable student protection laws for all students, including those with disabilities.
Second, the report recommends implementing future-focused strategic planning for AI integration. AI adoption should be intentional, coordinated, and aligned with each school’s mission, the authors said. The framework encourages schools to select tools that strengthen teachers’ work while minimizing non-essential or tedious workloads, as well as those that support student-centered, individualized learning.
It suggests forming an AI integration task force with representation from “AI-literate educators, administrators, families, legal advisors, and specialists in instructional technology and special education”; conducting an audit and predictive impact assessment before adopting specific AI tools; and selecting tools that align with strategic goals and anticipated future needs to prioritize consistency and longevity of use.
Third, it recommends ensuring AI educational opportunities for every student. Integration of AI tools should support learners across the full spectrum of abilities and backgrounds, according to the framework.
It suggests requiring AI tools to provide multiple means of content access, options for student response and expression, and personalized supports for executive function and focus. It also calls for prioritizing AI-generated feedback tools that ensure compliance with accessibility guidelines, such as variability in language processing; and prohibiting AI from making final decisions on individualized education program eligibility, services and accommodations, disciplinary actions, or student progress.
Fourth, it suggests conducting ongoing evaluation, professional learning, and community development. AI integration, CIDDL said in the report, is an ongoing process requiring “continuous review and improvement loops.”
Here, it recommends clarifying the select point person or team responsible for monitoring AI use; committing to a schedule to evaluate each tool in order to identify potential unintended consequences, misuse, or overuse; and building AI readiness and judgement for every role in the community, including teachers, staff, paraprofessionals, instructional aides and specialists.
THE BROADER CONTEXT
An executive order in April from President Donald Trump instructed schools to incorporate AI into their operations.
CIDDL’s priority, Fulchini Scruggs said in the news release, is to share relevant, digestible resources with educators that can advance their teaching and improve student learning outcomes.
“We want people to join the community and help them know where to start,” Fulchini Scruggs said. “We also know this will evolve and change, and we want to help educators stay up to date with those changes to use AI responsibly in their schools.”
