As reported by K-12 Dive, a final rule issued by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) on April 13, 2026 will continue to push for artificial intelligence use in classrooms through newly finalized priorities and definitions for school districts and colleges applying for any of the agency’s discretionary grant programs. The rule claims it will support projects that aim to expand the understanding of AI or the appropriate and ethical use of AI in education and within its parameters proposals that call for integrating AI literacy skills into teaching and learning practices that improve student outcomes will be given more weight.
Under the new rule, which takes effect May 13, other AI grant priorities for K-12 include proposals to:
-Expand age-appropriate AI and computer science education offerings in schools.
-Embed AI and computer science lessons into teacher preparation programs.
-Provide professional development for educators to integrate AI into their subject areas.
-Offer dual-enrollment credit opportunities for high schoolers to earn college credits or industry credentials in AI.
-Use AI to support K-12 services, including early intervention and special education, for students with disabilities and their families.
-Integrate AI-driven tools into classrooms for personalized learning and to improve student outcomes. For example, this could be through adaptive learning technology, virtual teaching assistants, tutoring or data analytics tools on student progress.
-Use AI to reduce time-consuming administrative tasks.
-Use AI for high-quality instructional resources, high-impact tutoring, or exploring college and career pathways.
-Implement AI tools to improve program outcomes.
Some education technology leaders called for major changes to the proposed rule when issued last July, such as creating a separate additional funding stream for AI education initiatives. Although the USDE acknowledged those requests, it didn’t act on them when issuing the final rule.
For more from K-12 Dive, click here.