Teachers Want 'Guardrails and Guidance' on AI Use, Experts Tell Congress

Education experts testified before Congress that teachers urgently need clear federal guidance and guardrails on AI use in classrooms, warning current policy gaps.

A panel of education technology experts told Congress on Wednesday that the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence in K-12 classrooms has outpaced policy, leaving teachers to navigate a complex and largely unregulated landscape without adequate support or clear guardrails.

Testifying before the House Education and Workforce Committee, witnesses emphasized that while AI offers transformative potential for personalized learning and administrative efficiency, educators are overwhelmed by the lack of consistent guidance. The hearing, titled "Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom: Promises and Perils," marked the first comprehensive congressional examination of AI in education since the technology's widespread adoption.

Pat Yongpradit, chief innovation officer at the International Society for Technology in Education and leader of TeachAI, urged lawmakers to prioritize "guardrails and guidance" over restrictive bans. "Teachers are not asking for handcuffs they are asking for a map," Yongpradit testified. "They want to know where the boundaries are so they can explore within them safely and effectively."

The testimony highlighted several urgent needs: clear data privacy standards for student information processed by AI systems; guidance on acceptable use policies that distinguish between administrative, instructional and student-facing applications; professional development resources to build teacher AI literacy; and frameworks for addressing algorithmic bias in educational tools.

Witnesses pointed to a patchwork of state-level approaches as insufficient, with some districts banning AI entirely while others have no policies whatsoever. The inconsistency creates equity gaps, where students in some districts gain AI literacy skills while others are left behind.

"Without federal leadership, we risk creating a new digital divide," warned Dr. Safiya Noble, a researcher studying algorithmic bias in educational technology. Committee chair Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) signaled bipartisan interest in developing federal guidelines, noting that "we cannot afford to leave our teachers and students navigating this alone."