# Adults have struggled to set rules for AI in school. These teens figured it out > Source: > Published: 2026-08-12 18:21:09+00:00 [NPR](/) > [Learning in the age of AI](/g-s1-108331) # Adults have struggled to set rules for AI in school. These teens figured it out By Cory Turner Thursday, July 30, 2026 • 5:00 AM EDT Heard on [All Things Considered](/nx-s1-5870698/2026-07-30) *Catch up on what you missed with our Education newsletter, sent weekly.* BOSTON — Over the course of one frantic, late-July weekend, 98 teens representing all 50 states put their busy lives on hold to try to do something remarkable. The students, most of them high school juniors and seniors, gathered in a precise replica of the U.S. Senate chamber and attempted what the real, adult Congress has largely failed to do: draft and pass "legislation" to help the nation's K-12 schools navigate [the questions and chaos](/2026/01/14/nx-s1-5674741/ai-schools-education) created by artificial intelligence. Should students be allowed to use AI on assignments? What about on tests? Is it schools' job to teach the nation's children what AI is and how to use it? There is [no national policy for AI use in schools](/2026/06/05/nx-s1-5779757/school-ai-education-students-teachers-poll-critical-thinking), meaning states and school districts have had to scramble to craft their own. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to actually help and try to change the country for the better," said student Gabriel Sutphin, representing South Carolina, speaking from the chamber floor at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. Related Story: [NPR](/nx-s1-5863025) To these teens, the stakes for getting ahead of AI are clear. They pointed out how adult leaders were slow to protect students from the risks of other tech developments. "We missed the mark with social media and phones," said Hunter Wurzel, a high school senior representing Ohio. "That's been a huge talking point already [this weekend], is how we failed to implement those things into education and teach the youth how to use them.*"* Wurzel and his 97 colleagues were handpicked by their school leaders and hosted by a handful of education- and tech-focused groups, including the Edward M. Kennedy Institute, AASA (The School Superintendents Association), and Day of AI, a nonprofit launched out of MIT's RAISE AI literacy initiative. At times during the weekend, where NPR was able to watch the events unfold, the bill seemed doomed, only to be revived by a flurry of student-led negotiation, old-fashioned compromises and some spirited speeches. "[This bill] is about who gets a seat at the table. Today, students have that seat," Bena Mejia Romero of Connecticut told her fellow senators before the final vote. Ultimately, their Students First Act passed overwhelmingly, 82-16. Among the bill's requirements: States should provide AI literacy as soon as students get access to classroom devices; AI use should be banned on all graded tests; and teachers can require an oral defense of any project from a [student suspected of using AI inappropriately](/2025/12/16/nx-s1-5492397/ai-schools-teachers-students?unified=true&renderPlatform=nprone_ios). (You can read the full bill [at the end of this article](/2026/07/30/nx-s1-5853571/students-set-ai-policy#bill).) "The adults themselves haven't been able to come to consensus on this, right? And so now it falls to the kids. Let them lead the way," said Jeffrey Riley, the executive director of Day of AI and former education commissioner of Massachusetts. Related Story: [NPR](/nx-s1-5779757) While the Students First Act isn't actually law, any more than the teens are actually senators, AASA plans to send the text to its members: 10,000 school leaders across the country, many of whom are right now crafting their own AI rules in the absence of regulation. **Rules for students** When students arrived at the start of the weekend, they were presented with a stew of policies that they had suggested in the run-up to the event. Then they were divided into subcommittees — focused on students, educators, administrators and families — to debate the dozens of proposals and create a coherent bill they could all support. The student-focused section of the final bill includes 15 provisions, several focused on a concern many of the senators shared: that teens are using AI to do their thinking for them. Without guidance and guardrails, "[AI use] is just gonna go unhinged," said Campbell McHenry, a high school junior from Mississippi. "Everyone's gonna stop learning and start relying on AI. Instead of using it as a tool, they're gonna use it as a brain." Among the bill's student-focused proposals: **Approved uses**: Students should not be allowed to use AI for writing, "though editing, brainstorming and studying" with AI should be allowed after eighth grade. **Prove mastery**: Students permitted to use AI should have to cite how they used it and demonstrate their grasp of a subject through discussions, handwritten tests or oral defenses. **Plagiarism review**: Any student suspected of using AI inappropriately should have their work reviewed not just by AI checker software,[which can be unreliable](/2025/12/16/nx-s1-5492397/ai-schools-teachers-students?renderPlatform=nprone_ios&unified=true), but also two school officials. One of the most contentious issues was deciding when students should first be exposed to AI in the classroom: High school? Middle school? Earlier? Lucia Herrera, a Missouri high schooler, took issue with an early draft of the bill. "There's nothing that says students need to be proficient before using it," Herrera told her subcommittee colleagues. "It's basically saying they can use it whenever. Which I think is a misuse of it.*"* Her subcommittee's proposed solution: require schools to teach AI literacy as soon as devices are introduced in the classroom, including misinformation, plagiarism, bias in AI design, student privacy, appropriate academic use and AI's environmental impact. When the provision came up later that day, before the full Senate, Connecticut's Bena Mejia Romero told her fellow student lawmakers they should support the new requirement. **"** If we're going to be using devices, we should know the dangers and the benefits that they have." But one of the senators from California, Om Lala, argued that requiring schools to begin teaching AI literacy would be a heavy lift. "Teachers already are pretty under-resourced." Tristan Tjetjep of Tennessee added that he worried how "underprivileged schools" would pay for this new instruction. Suddenly, the students had run headlong into [U.S. schools' funding inequities](/series/473636949/schoolmoney) — a problem they attempted to resolve with a requirement that the federal government chip in funding. **Rules for educators, parents and caregivers** The Students First Act not only covers students' use of AI but also insists on [rules for educators](/2025/12/16/nx-s1-5492397/ai-schools-teachers-students): **Approved teacher use of AI**: Allowed for tasks including lesson planning, making practice materials, providing feedback and improving instruction. **Must have a clear AI policy**: Each semester, teachers need to post "a clear, written AI usage policy," explaining when AI is allowed and when it's not. What's more, if an AI detector flags potential inappropriate AI use in a student paper, the bill says "teachers must personally investigate the issue before reporting the student to admin." The student senators struggled with the 10 provisions in the bill's parents/guardians section because, as Isabella Stringer of New Hampshire said on the Senate floor, "We cannot legislate parenthood. Schools cannot tell parents what or how to teach your children.*"* As such, some of the provisions here suggest rather than tell. For instance, one says simply that parents should encourage balanced technology habits and emphasize the importance of ethical academic behavior at home. The early version of the bill also gave parents a full veto over their students' AI access, but many of the senators argued that AI is here to stay and students must be taught how to use it. "Giving [parents] the complete say, especially in middle to high school, in what their child can and can't do with AI is gonna limit [students] because a lot of [adults] don't even know what AI is themselves," said junior Tatiyana Reaves of North Carolina. In one of the weekend's more passionate exchanges, senators debated what should happen if a student attempts to use a school-based AI tool, like a chatbot, "for emotional support." Several teens worried that if a student confided sensitive information about, say, [their sexuality](/2025/10/08/nx-s1-5561981/ai-students-schools-teachers) or a mental health crisis, they should be able to trust that it would be kept private. But Dylan Dornack of Iowa argued on the Senate floor that, for students in crisis or experiencing suicidal thoughts, the technology must alert a *human*. "This could be lifesaving," Dornack told his colleagues, "whether or not that student is fearful that they might get outed. This is just one of those things that has to be taken to trusted adults." Ultimately, the students agreed: When a school chatbot detects a student in need of emotional support, it should not fulfill the student's request but instead alert school officials. **The rush to passage** At the end of the whirlwind weekend, the student senators gathered in the replica chamber and more than half volunteered to address their colleagues for one minute each. Dornack was the first to speak and called the bill an important, if imperfect, foundation for schools' AI policies. "You have to lay the blocks before you can have the building. So here I say, let's lay the blocks and let's pass this*."* But Jadelynn Petitjean of Alabama called the bill an "unstable foundation" and opposed it. Earlier in the day, West Virginia's Ethan Liu had also opposed it, highlighting several contradictions in the bill, including amendments that both restricted students' AI access while appearing to give teachers wide discretion over when and how AI is used. "I thought it reflected really badly on us. I had a whole different speech planned out against this bill, actually. It was really good," Liu told the Senate chamber before the final vote. But at the last minute, the event's organizers allowed the students to iron out a few of the bill's inconsistencies, and, as a result, Liu changed his vote, saying "this bill is in much better shape." Student after student walked to the microphone at the front of the chamber, and most endorsed the bill, including Kendall Terao-Toma of Hawaii: *"*This is for our future — not just for education but for the workforce we will join, the economy that we will build and the communities we will lead." *Edited by: **Nirvi Shah** and **Nicole Cohen**; audio story produced by: **Lauren Migaki** Visual design and development by: **LA Johnson* ### Read the full text of the Students First Act: ### Transcript SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST: Over the course of one frantic weekend this summer, 98 teenagers representing all 50 states met in Boston to try to do something quite ambitious. They wanted to agree on one unified national policy to help schools navigate the chaos created by artificial intelligence. NPR's Cory Turner has their story. CORY TURNER, BYLINE: These teens, most of them high school juniors and seniors, came from big cities and small towns, blue states and red states. And they have at least one thing in common - when it comes to AI, they want guardrails. CAMPBELL MCHENRY: Without that, it's just going to go unhinged. Everyone's going to stop learning and start relying on AI. Instead of using AI as a tool, they're going to use it as a brain. TURNER: Campbell McHenry goes to school in Mississippi, and he's talking here about what researchers call cognitive offloading. I asked a lot of the teens about this. And is that something that you guys have seen, that there are plenty of kids who are just... VIVIAN DODD: Oh, yeah. TURNER: ...Looking to get through an assignment? VIVIAN: Oh, yeah. TURNER: Think (ph) you're... VIVIAN: I'm friends with most of them (laughter). COLTON LARSON: We got assignments that people just go, yeah, as soon as I get home, I'm just putting this whole thing into ChatGPT. TURNER: And that's partly why Colton Larson (ph) of Idaho and Vivian Dodd (ph) of Wyoming came to Boston - to be a part of this mock Senate to craft an AI policy that teens and schools can agree on. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend. UNIDENTIFIED STUDENTS: I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend. TURNER: The weekend began at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. In a replica of the Senate chamber, the students stood at their desks, taking the oath of office. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: So help me God. UNIDENTIFIED STUDENTS: So help me God. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: And with that, you may be seated. Give yourselves a round of applause. Welcome to the United States Senate. (APPLAUSE) TURNER: This teen Senate was handpicked by their school leaders, and the event was co-sponsored by several nonprofits, including the institute, plus AASA, The School Superintendents Association, and Day of AI, a nonprofit launched out of MIT's RAISE AI literacy initiative. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Your charge is pretty simple. This is an opportunity for you to tell us what you think. TURNER: The students were reminded whatever they come up with wouldn't become real law. After all, they're not real senators. But if they could agree, their bill would be sent to AASA's network of some 10,000 school leaders across the country, many of whom are right now crafting their own local AI policies in the absence of national regulation. JEFFREY RILEY: The adults themselves haven't been able to come to consensus on this. TURNER: Jeffrey Riley is executive director of Day of AI. RILEY: Now it's - falls to the kids. Let them lead the way. I think they recognize that AI is a powerful technology with some really positives, but I think they recognize there's some negatives as well. TURNER: After being sworn in, the students were then divided into subcommittees to turn a laundry list of proposed ideas into one coherent bill. DANIELLE ROBERTSON: The first thing we're writing is states shall require schools to provide AI literacy when students first start utilizing technology in the classroom. TURNER: Arkansas' Danielle Robertson (ph) and her team all agreed that schools should be required to teach students about AI and how to use it responsibly, including plagiarism, data privacy and understanding that chatbots are designed to tell you what you want to hear. But how early should that teaching start? Elijah Martinez (ph), representing New Mexico, argued the earlier, the better. ELIJAH MARTINEZ: If we don't teach kids what these AI models are using their data for... UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT #1: OK. ELIJAH: ...I think it's dangerous because we're allowing kids to put in their information, and that's private sensitive information. TURNER: Ultimately, the subcommittee agreed - schools should be required to teach kids about AI as soon as they introduce devices into the classroom. Next up, Bena Mejia Romero of Connecticut had to defend this particular amendment in front of the full Senate. BENA MEJIA ROMERO: We should be introduced to it when devices are introduced to our classrooms. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Right. BENA: Right? If we're going to be using devices, we should know the dangers and the benefits that they have. So that's... UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Fantastic. Let's get a round of applause for the senator of Connecticut. (APPLAUSE) TURNER: For older students, the senators decided to ban the use of AI on any graded tests and in the act of writing, though editing and studying with AI would be allowed after eighth grade. And for students accused of breaking those rules, Ohio's David Macon Linares (ph) told the full Senate there should be protections. DAVID MACON LINARES: There's been many instances where students have had their work falsely flagged and they haven't been able to appeal it or they had to spend multiple weeks appealing it. There must be an appeal process there. TURNER: Not just an appeal process, but the review should be done by two school adults, not just one. In another powerful moment on the Senate floor, Dylan Dornack from Iowa told his colleagues that if a student in crisis tries to get emotional support from a school chatbot, the AI should not respond. Instead, it should notify trusted school adults. DYLAN DORNACK: It'll alert those people, and then those people could go and find that student, have them come and talk to them, provide them with the resources that that student clearly needs in that moment. TURNER: When asked if alerting adults might betray students' trust... DYLAN: Your friend might be mad at you for telling somebody that they have mentioned self-harm or anything like that, but you might have saved their life. TURNER: By the end of the weekend, the final bill had nearly 50 provisions, but still enough inconsistencies and questions that it wasn't clear it would pass. Michael Champigny, who works for the institute, told the students this is how legislating works. It's messy. And then he reminded them why they were there. MICHAEL CHAMPIGNY: There is currently no AI policy across the country. Many schools have nothing in place. If you truly think that nothing is better than what you have put together, you can absolutely vote this bill down. But are you letting perfect be the enemy of good? TURNER: After a frantic working lunch and some quick fixes, it was time for the final vote. Dozens of students signed up to make one-minute speeches before the full Senate. ETHAN LIU: This morning, I was one of this bill's staunchest opponents. TURNER: Ethan Liu traveled to Boston from West Virginia. ETHAN: I had a whole different speech planned out against this bill, actually. It was really good. I was going to quote Charli XCX, and it was really good. And I'm sad I wasn't able to give it. TURNER: Instead, Liu encouraged his Senate colleagues to vote yes. (SOUNDBITE OF GAVEL BANGING) TURNER: After a few more speeches... UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Time for voting has come, senators. TURNER: ...The student senators cast their votes. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Senator Caldwell (ph). UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT #2: No. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Senator votes no. Senator Cox (ph). UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT #3: Aye. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Senator votes aye. TURNER: And held their breath. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Senators, by a final vote of 83 in favor, 15 opposed, senators, congratulations. You've passed S 2026, the Students First Act, here today. Well done. (APPLAUSE) TURNER: Now the bill heads to those 10,000 school leaders across the country, many of whom are debating these very questions and who might find the Students First Act a really good first step. Cory Turner, NPR News, Boston. (SOUNDBITE OF CHARLI XCX SONG, "360")