The Florida State Board of Education adopted new rules placing some of the nation’s strictest guardrails on artificial intelligence in K-12 schools and colleges — banning companion AI, protecting student data, and putting parents in control of what technology their children use in the classroom.
The rules apply to school districts, charter school boards, and Florida College System institutions. They do not ban AI outright but require it to support teachers and parents — not replace them.
“Florida will not outsource childhood to a chatbot,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis. “We welcome tools that help teachers teach and students learn. We will not accept tools that hide from parents, harvest student data, grade kids in secret, or pretend to be a friend. In this state, a teacher stands in front of the class, a parent has the last word, and a student still has to think.”
What the rules require
Parents must be notified when an AI tool is approved for classroom use — including the tool’s name, which courses use it, and how students will interact with it. Parents can opt their child in or choose a non-AI alternative. AI tools used in VPK through grade 5 face additional review for age and developmental appropriateness.
The rules prohibit AI designed to simulate companionship or emotional relationships, undisclosed behavior monitoring, social scoring, psychological profiling, and vendors selling or using student data to train AI models.
“AI belongs in a classroom when it sharpens instruction, protects privacy, and leaves the student’s own mind stronger than it found it,” said Florida Education Commissioner Henry Mack. “We are preparing Floridians for an AI economy. We are not raising a generation that outsources judgment or rationality.”
What comes next
Commissioner Mack directed the Florida Department of Education to update K-12 Computer Science standards and the Florida Digital Classrooms Plan — requiring districts to evaluate technology based on learning outcomes, not screen time, and to prove instructional value before purchasing or renewing tools.
“Do not let a vendor turn a child into training data,” said State Board of Education Chair Ryan Petty. “Innovation without those conditions is not leadership. It is abdication.”
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.