The rush to adopt AI is understandable—but without governance, schools risk compliance failures, community backlash, and missed opportunities for students.
GUEST COLUMN | by Andrea Claver
Artificial intelligence is currently a topic of conversation in many sectors; however, in the world of education, it’s taking center stage. From staff professional development to student AI literacy, the subject dominates every circle, including EdTech, K-12, and higher education. As these conversations evolve, a critical gap has emerged. While the rationale for AI governance or anecdotes about individual school AI strategies are often discussed, the mechanics are rarely addressed. What specific elements of a policy ensure districts and schools aren’t overlooking the essential requirements for safe and ethical AI use in education?
‘While the rationale for AI governance or anecdotes about individual school AI strategies are often discussed, the mechanics are rarely addressed.’
The Risk of a Tools-First Approach
In the rush to be AI-ready, many districts prioritize tools and implementation strategies as their first step. It is an understandable impulse. Educators are taught that “doing” is the most effective way to learn. To understand AI, they must first put it into practice.
However, with artificial intelligence, taking this tools-first approach is a liability. AI raises a spectrum of safety and ethical concerns that, if not addressed immediately and clearly, pose significant risks to educational institutions. These risks range from legal compliance failures with existing laws, ranging from data privacy to mandated reporting, to a loss of community trust and social license to innovate. When a district or school operates without a policy foundation, it has no leg to stand on when concerns about data privacy, job displacement, or the erosion of critical thinking are raised. This often results in the sudden suspension of AI programs—directly and often disproportionately impacting the students who need AI literacy most to thrive in an AI-driven future.
Building the Guardrails Before the Rollout
At the EDSAFE AI Alliance, we are working to shift the national focus toward this governance-first model. Our policy lab network—which includes states, districts, and charter school networks—supports organizations in creating a policy stack. This model also provides a forum for participants to discuss current state and federal policy updates and training on what it means to truly implement SAFE (safe, accountable, fair & transparent, and effective) policies and practices in the education ecosystem. Even for those who adopted tools in the early, unregulated days of the AI boom, we encourage you to take a step back to put these essential guardrails in place This doesn’t have to be a big P policy document – it can be guidance documents for educators, student and families, adjustments to existing policies, all originating from the work of crafting a shared vision across the system.
This type of proactive governance is often the key to a successful tool rollout. Before AI tools are officially introduced, districts must build the systems that protect students and staff. This ensures that when teachers eventually introduce AI into classroom instruction at scale, they are doing so within a pre-established safety net. It ensures that parents have peace of mind, knowing their child’s school has taken its best precautionary measures to foster responsible, ethical use.
Turning Policy Into Practice
We recognize that we cannot do this work in isolation. Though most educators are not policy experts, they are being asked to navigate the rapid proliferation of AI for the first time. To support this transition, the EDSAFE AI Alliance developed a self-paced policy course consisting of ten 20-minute modules. Policy Essentials: Building the SAFE Infrastructure for AI in Education is designed to help organizations build a policy stack from the ground up, centered on the EDSAFE AI SAFE-Framework and the EDSAFE Policy Stack
Our goal is to provide the “what” of policy development, equipping leaders to address AI guidance with confidence. To further support this mission, EDSAFE has created the $250,000 Spark Fund—a grant opportunity available exclusively to course graduates. Participants who complete the course will have the opportunity to apply for funding and be matched with technical assistance to guide them through a SAFE-aligned project of their choosing. States, districts, and schools need to drive and demand what they need – at EDSAFE, we are trying to provide the capital and the capacity to achieve it.
Preparing Schools for an AI Future
As Generative AI continues to advance, the need for proactive policy and guidance is more critical than ever before. While having the right tools to safely use AI in educational settings is important, adopting technology without a robust framework creates a dangerous gap—exposing districts to avoidable risks. By prioritizing governance now, we ensure that the future of AI in education is defined by safety and ethics, rather than reaction and risk.
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Andrea Claver is Project Manager of the EDSAFE AI Alliance at InnovateEDU, where she helps states, districts, and schools develop safe, accountable, and effective approaches to AI adoption. A former instructional technology coach and English teacher, she brings nearly a decade of experience supporting educators through technology integration, professional learning, and districtwide innovation initiatives. Connect with Andrea on LinkedIn.
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