The rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools has created a complex landscape for educational entities. Schools are being asked to prepare students for an AI-shaped world while also managing unresolved questions about data privacy, academic integrity, and student learning.
As another school year begins, this balancing act has become more immediate: schools are investing in AI tools, policymakers are encouraging AI literacy, and educators are still working through what responsible implementation looks like. In North Carolina and across the country, these challenges are taking shape against a backdrop of growing public attention and increased AI investment. See Schools Spend Billions on AI, But Struggle to Figure Out What’s Worth Buying, Education Week (Aug. 20, 2026); How Big Tech Captured American Schools, NY Times (Aug. 23, 2026). And while there is a clear expectation from State leaders that educators should be familiar with AI and incorporate AI awareness into school policies and curriculum – there is not much detail about how this should be accomplished.
The following resources and considerations may be helpful to educators grappling with how to incorporate AI tools:
- In 2024, the Department of Public Instruction (“NC DPI”) issued the North Carolina Generative AI Implementation Recommendations and Guidelines for PK-13 Public Schools, intended to support the “responsible implementation of generative AI tools” and “guide AI Literacy.” It urges educators to ensure that “human values remain at the center of teaching and learning,” while noting that “leadership means acknowledging the risks of AI, but not being defined by them." NC DPI “strongly recommends” that each public school follow the document’s roadmap, which among other things would involve reviewing “current EdTech providers deploying generative AI to vet their safety, privacy, reliability, and efficacy.” Although directed at public schools, this guidance document is informative for all types of educators across the State.
- On July 1, 2026, the North Carolina AI Leadership Council released its AI Strategic Roadmap (the “Roadmap”). The Council was created to help “ensure North Carolina becomes a national leader in AI literacy, governance, and deployment,” and includes 17 strategic goals to achieve that mission. These include a goal focused on PK-13 education. The Council recommends that teachers “integrate AI discussions into existing lessons with an emphasis on the seven durable human skills in N.C. Portrait of a Graduate: adaptability, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, empathy, learner’s mindset, and personal responsibility.” The Roadmap does not provide more specifics about how to achieve this, so how educators apply this recommendation in practice will likely vary across the State. School leaders will benefit from outreach and discussion with each other as they navigate this evolving space.
- Many schools and districts have already developed local policies addressing the use of AI. Indeed, the North Carolina School Boards Association (“NCSBA”) model policy 3220, Technology in the Educational Program, was recently revised to include an optional section on the use of generative AI. The policy encourages the use of generative AI by educators and students “to prepare students for a future AI-enhanced world,” including “the skills to recognize when AI is employed, and awareness of its limits.” The NCSBA calls for training educators to ensure the safe and responsible integration of AI into classroom instructions – but does not explain what exactly this knowledge would involve or how it should be conveyed to educators.
Despite this uncertainty, one thing is clear: AI will continue to transform education. Given the mandate to responsibly incorporate AI into schools but the lack of specific guidelines, educators will benefit from expert input on the potential and limitations of AI, in particular from attorneys who understand what is legally required of schools and the legal risks raised by AI. An experienced attorney can help educators assess what information may be shared with AI platform, create policies identifying who is responsible for approving AI tools, develop training to guide educators on using these tools responsibly, and navigate complex and novel AI-accommodations-related issues.
Our Brooks Pierce team is comprised of experts in education law and artificial intelligence. We are uniquely positioned to help educators navigate AI-related challenges and identify strategies and solutions.
This Alert provides an update on a legal development. It is not intended as legal advice. If you have questions, contact a member of our Brooks Pierce Artificial Intelligence or Education team.