Penn State wrapped its first statewide listening tour on AI in education in June, collecting direct input from K-12 teachers and administrators that will shape Pennsylvania's first consistent AI guidance for school districts. The commonwealth currently has no formal framework, while more than 20 other states have already adopted one. Findings from the tour are slated for publication this fall.
The "Shaping AI in Education: A Pennsylvania Listening and Learning Tour," sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, ran from March through June. It brought together Penn State faculty, researchers, outreach staff and graduate students with educators at five campuses-University Park, Greater Allegheny, Berks, York and Wilkes-Barre-plus virtual sessions for those unable to attend in person.
Each day-long summit offered Act 48 and Act 45 continuing education credits at no cost. Sessions used AI Café-style discussions covering the fundamentals of how AI works, ethical and sustainability issues-including bias and data privacy-policy considerations, workforce development, and practical ways AI can support teaching tasks and reduce administrative load.
What educators said
Pre- and post-event surveys coupled with facilitated discussions captured participant perspectives. The team received strong feedback pointing to the practical value of the sessions.
"This was, by far, the best AI session I've ever attended," said Tamara Solometo, director of curriculum for Southern Lehigh School District. "I appreciate the work you have done and continue to do to further AI awareness and education across the state. I plan to use many of these resources to support the work our AI Steering Committee will be doing this summer."
Josh Fleming, a technology educator for Solanco School District, called the day "a very hopeful and informative day," while Ken Zimmerman, associate program director at Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13, said he's "looking forward to what comes next."
Turning input into statewide guidance
Kathleen Hill, professor of science education and director of the Center for Science and the Schools, said the initiative targeted four interconnected dimensions: AI policy, opportunities like personalized learning and student AI literacy, administrative workload reduction, and critical concerns around academic integrity and environmental sustainability. A cross-disciplinary team from Penn State's colleges of education, engineering, agricultural sciences, and the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences led the effort.
"Pennsylvania currently lacks a consistent, statewide framework to guide AI implementation in K-12 education," Hill said. "With data collected from Penn State's tour, we aim to help the commonwealth develop thoughtful, research-informed direction grounded in educators' and administrators' voices and local context."
The team will deliver a report to the Pennsylvania Department of Education summarizing outcomes, evaluation findings and recommended next steps. The work was recently named a runner-up for the "AI Societal Impact" Award at the Penn State AI Awards.
Why this matters for educators
The forthcoming state AI guidance will likely influence professional development requirements, classroom policies and how schools vet and adopt AI tools. Educators who participated in the tour gained early exposure to emerging frameworks, but the final report will be the starting point for district-level planning across Pennsylvania. School leaders can expect concrete recommendations on training, ethical guardrails and integration strategies when the findings are published this fall.
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