Policy

The application window for the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program opened last week, including funds for schools and other public agencies to spend on promoting digital equity among underserved groups.

Two bills making their way through the state Legislature take aim at AI-generated audio or visual material, and “materially deceptive content” related to elections.

The Alabama Blockchain Study Commission, created by legislative resolution in May, met for the first time Tuesday. State lawmakers, and public- and private-sector representatives chose its leaders.

A video that used artificial intelligence voice cloning to mimic Vice President Kamala Harris' voice in a parody campaign has raised concerns about how AI may be used to spread election disinformation.

U.S. Senators prepared to vote Tuesday on a package of bills designed to safeguard children online. Opponents geared up to lobby against them in the House.

Across the state, voters in five districts nixed buying electric school buses and instead approved buying traditional ones. Even voters in progressive-leaning Ithaca agreed to buy just two.

This week’s decision from the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals calls the Universal Service Fund unconstitutional. The nearly 30-year-old fund uses telecommunications fees to pay for the FCC’s E-rate program.

New legislation requires that all public and private schools in Ohio carry automated external defibrillators, which can help prevent student athletes from dying of sudden cardiac arrest.

Technology execs are critical of state Sen. Scott Wiener’s Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act. The San Francisco Democrat said Thursday it is narrower than the European Union AI law.

A new framework from the Los Angeles County Office of Education offers step-by-step instructions for the implementation and use of artificial intelligence in TK-12 schools that other districts might find useful.

Panelists in a recent webinar discussed how bad actors might want to tamper with voter registration databases — and how election offices around the country have been working to stay resilient against threats.

The South Carolina Department of Education is expected to draft a model cellphone policy in August. Many students at schools that have already piloted cellphone restrictions were pleasantly surprised at their effect.

Grove City, Ohio, has taken a cautious, intentional approach to regulating artificial intelligence. An AI policy enacted late last year specifies implementation of AI-powered tools is approved on a case-by-case basis.

School districts and state and local governments across the U.S. have been approving policies restricting student cellphone use in class. Many teachers are desperate for the help, and some have already seen improvements.

SpaceX is apparently seeking permission from federal regulators to land its Super Heavy booster at its Boca Chica Beach launch tower rather than have it splash into the Gulf of Mexico during Starship's next flight.

The U.S. Senate is considering legislation that would make AI-generated nude photos a federal crime and give victims assurance that such images can be removed quickly from the Internet.

The Federal Communications Commission voted July 18 to allow funding for Wi-Fi hot spots under the E-rate program. Schools can loan these hot spots to students who lack Internet access at home.

After two fires at battery energy storage facilities in less than a year, staff for the San Diego County Board of Supervisors will create standards for future projects in unincorporated areas. The issue could go to a vote as soon as August.