As district leaders, superintendents, and legislators work towards crafting policies around AI in education, it often feels like chasing a moving target. A policy on AI, to me, seems as short-sighted as a policy on “the internet” would have been 20 years ago. Just as we now have different policies for specific aspects of the internet—data privacy, content moderation, cybersecurity—AI will require policies tailored to its varied use cases. The real question is: how do we govern something so vast and rapidly evolving?

AI in education has many roles—supporting students with homework, aiding teachers in lesson planning, helping administrators with data, and even assessing students for IEPs in special education. Crafting a blanket policy on AI is like trying to legislate the weather. AI evolves faster than regulations can keep up, making today’s policies outdated as soon as they’re written. Instead, we need to look at specific applications and contexts for AI use, recognizing that the technology will continue to outpace our ability to control it fully.

AI and Homework: Balancing Assistance and Learning

One of the most discussed areas is students using AI to do their homework. While tools like ChatGPT can help brainstorm ideas, generate content, or assist with research, they can easily be misused to shortcut learning entirely. The challenge is not banning AI but guiding its use so that students engage with material meaningfully rather than passively outsourcing their work. Policies in this area need to focus on ethical usage, encouraging students to use AI as a tool for learning, not a crutch to avoid it. However, by the time a policy is enforced, AI will have already adapted or morphed into a new form, rendering that policy outdated​​.

AI for Teachers: Empowering Educators, Not Replacing Them

AI has been transformative in supporting teachers, reducing the burden of administrative tasks like lesson planning, grading, and even differentiating instruction. Platforms like Teachally have already cut hours of work into minutes, allowing educators to focus on what matters most: teaching and connecting with students. Policies governing AI in this context should promote its use as a teacher-support tool, rather than over-regulating it out of fear. By the time regulations attempt to define the boundaries of AI in the classroom, AI tools will have already advanced, offering new capabilities that today’s policies won’t address​​.

AI in Administration and Special Education: Ensuring Fairness and Privacy

AI’s role in administration and special education is equally nuanced. Whether using AI to streamline school management or assess students for individualized education programs (IEPs), the technology can bring tremendous efficiency. But with that efficiency comes the risk of privacy breaches and ethical concerns, especially in handling sensitive student data. While policies should protect student privacy and adhere to strict legal standards like FERPA and COPPA, these policies will inevitably lag behind as AI systems evolve with increasing sophistication​​.

Privacy, Ethics, and the Need for Dynamic Guardrails

A major concern with AI in education is the protection of privacy and the ethical implications of data use. As AI adapts and learns from the data it processes, there is the potential for bias, misinformation, and breaches in confidentiality. Teachally, for instance, is built with privacy safeguards in place, but as the technology evolves, even these protections will need constant updating. Policies around AI must include built-in flexibility to adapt to future iterations of the technology—static laws will simply not suffice in a world where AI advances daily​​​.

The Short Shelf-Life of AI Policies

The most important thing to recognize is that any policy on AI is temporary. AI is not just a tool; it’s a utility, a foundational layer that will be part of every system we use in education and beyond. Much like the internet, AI will be ubiquitous, embedded in everything from lesson planning to curriculum development to student engagement. Instead of blanket regulations we must ask: how do we design education systems that integrate AI responsibly, knowing that the technology will continue to evolve faster than we can write policies?

In the end, the goal shouldn’t be to control AI with rigid rules but to create adaptive systems that evolve alongside it. Educators should be empowered with AI to enhance their work, not be constrained by outdated regulations. Students should use AI to deepen learning, not bypass it. And schools should harness AI’s capabilities to streamline administration without compromising ethics or privacy. Rather than aiming for permanence, AI policies must be living documents—able to evolve as quickly as the technology itself​​​.