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It has been over three years since ChatGPT launched, bringing artificial intelligence to the masses for the first time. Today, AI is reshaping schools, workplaces and entire industries. Yet only 40 school districts in 17 states — approximately 0.30% — have district-level AI guidance.
The communication gap is stark. Pew Research found that 26% of teenagers ages 13 to 17 used ChatGPT for their schoolwork in 2024, up from 13% in 2023, yet most lacked formal instruction on responsible use. According to the Center on Reinventing Public Education, nearly three-quarters of parents report that their children’s schools haven’t shared their AI policies.
This lack of guidance creates two dangerous extremes: students who fear AI because it’s been branded as cheating, and those who misuse it as a shortcut because they’ve never been taught otherwise. In both cases, young people miss the opportunity to practice the critical thinking, problem-solving and ethical judgment skills regarding AI that education is meant to foster — in other words, to develop AI literacy.
As a researcher, educator and parent, I have worked to advance AI literacy, transparency and integration in colleges and medical schools. But I do not see the same efforts in most K-12 schools. Advocacy is key, and parents can help make this happen.
My son discovered ChatGPT in seventh grade. Three years later, his South Carolina school district still offered no clear guidelines for AI use, so I began a methodical advocacy campaign. I attended a superintendent’s coffee chat, shared AI education books with district leaders and followed up with emails and a virtual meeting. For months, it seemed as if my efforts had fallen on deaf ears. Then, I was invited to join the district’s AI planning team, a diverse group including students, teachers, parents, administrators, and AI education consultants. Our daylong session covered generative AI applications, ethics in education and guideline development.
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Following the meeting, we participated in a survey and observed a school board presentation on AI policy development. And in January, the district Board of Trustees approved a policy governing the use of artificial intelligence in classrooms.
This experience taught me that parent voices matter. But effective advocacy requires patience, persistence and a constructive approach. Fortunately, families wanting to get involved have proven models to follow.
In Utah, the state’s official AI Framework for Education emphasizes ethical use, transparency and family engagement, with guidance for schools to communicate clearly with parents about AI tools. In Miami-Dade County, Florida, the school board voted in 2025 to begin developing districtwide guidelines for classroom AI use, including the creation of family-facing resources to promote responsible use at home.
Resources like Fairfax County Public Schools’ Parent Advocacy Handbook offer a strong foundation for AI literacy advocacy. The handbook encourages parents to stay informed about new technologies, ask questions when schools lack clear guidelines, build relationships with staff and participate in school meetings to influence policy. These efforts can open doors to influencing policy and curriculum decisions.
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Parents also can advocate for their school district to join initiatives like the National Academy for AI Instruction, which aims to train 400,000 teachers nationwide in AI fluency by 2030. They can push for partnerships with nonprofits like aiEDU and AI4K12, which provide free, grade-appropriate AI curricula, teacher training and ethical use frameworks. If the school district is open to collaboration, they can also request a pilot or demo for tools like Boodlebox.ai, a platform that provides access to multiple AI models in one place with a focus on education. Boodlebox offers grants to help cover the cost of subscription.
Local AI councils — groups of experts from fields such as law, technology, and education who advise local governments on using AI responsibly — provide another avenue for parent involvement. In Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, the Advisory Council on Artificial Intelligence for the Public Good brings together experts from the private sector, academia, public service and beyond. In Montgomery County, Maryland, officials formed an AI Center of Excellence to ”ensure the successful evaluation, coordination, implementation and adoption of AI solutions,” in the county. Parents can encourage their districts to establish similar advisory committees or collaborate with such county-level groups if they already exist in their area.
Through this process, I’ve compiled a comprehensive list of K-12 AI literacy resources that parents can use as conversation starters with their districts — from state frameworks to nonprofit curricula — categorized by audience: administration, teachers and students. I also keep an eye out for grant opportunities for my district. For example, the ADAPT in SC Project recently opened applications for the 2026 Artificial Intelligence Research Experience for Teachers program, which helps high school educators gain AI knowledge and skills that they can take back to their computer science, science, mathematics and health classrooms.The stakes couldn’t be higher. Without AI literacy, students will struggle to navigate a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. They’ll lack the ethical framework to use these tools responsibly and will enter college and the workforce at a significant disadvantage compared with peers who received proper guidance. Momentum is building, but districts won’t act without parent demand and involvement. If parents don’t push for AI literacy now, they risk raising a generation fluent in fear or shortcuts rather than the skills that matter and the resilience needed to thrive.
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