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Pennsylvania Bill Would Ban AI as Primary Instructor in Charter Schools

Rep. Nikki Rivera's bill bars charters from using AI as the primary instructor, keeping certified teachers at the helm. AI can assist, but humans remain responsible.

Categorized in: AI News Education
Published on: Sep 16, 2025
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Pennsylvania Bill Would Ban AI as Primary Instructor in Charter Schools

House bill would bar charter schools from using AI as the primary instructor

A new proposal in the state House would ban charter schools from using AI as the primary delivery system of instruction. The bill, introduced by Rep. Nikki Rivera, D-Lancaster, keeps space for AI tools, but requires certified human teachers to lead direct instruction.

Rivera's memo says the goal is to prevent "unproven institutional practices," reduce review burdens on education agencies, and protect taxpayers from "those manipulating the law for their own profit at the expense of our students."

What the bill would do

The legislation targets charter applications that rely on AI as the main teacher. It explicitly leaves room for AI to support instruction when a "human is at the helm," meaning certified educators remain responsible for teaching and oversight.

The move follows a January rejection of an application from Unbound Academic Institute, which proposed using AI to assess needs, build curricula, and teach students in two hours or less per day, with humans serving as guides. The Department of Education cited multiple deficiencies beyond AI use, but the case fueled debate statewide.

Why this matters for educators

The state is dealing with labor shortages and teacher burnout. At the same time, leaders acknowledge AI will likely replace certain roles-many argue teaching shouldn't be one of them.

Gov. Josh Shapiro has already rolled out AI across state government to reduce administrative load and paperwork. If applied with guardrails in schools, similar gains could help teachers reclaim time for planning, feedback, and student relationships.

Practical steps for districts and charter operators

  • Audit your AI use now: Identify tools in classrooms, special education, operations, and assessment. Document purpose, data inputs, outputs, and human oversight.
  • Define "human at the helm" roles: Specify which educator is accountable for instruction, how they review AI output, and how they intervene.
  • Tighten data privacy and procurement: Require vendor disclosures on training data, bias testing, FERPA compliance, and content moderation. Include opt-out paths for families where appropriate.
  • Pilot before scale: Run small, time-bound trials with success metrics (learning outcomes, time saved, equity checks, student well-being) and a clear stop/go decision.
  • Build staff capacity: Offer short trainings on prompt quality, verification habits, and acceptable use. Emphasize that AI is an assistant-not a teacher.

Expert perspective: guardrails, not blanket bans

Many AI researchers warn that broad moratoriums can freeze useful experimentation. A middle path is a regulatory sandbox-limited pilots under clear rules, transparent evaluation, and public reporting-before any wider adoption.

Two useful references for school leaders: the U.S. Department of Education's guidance on AI in teaching and learning and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework for assessing risk and oversight.

What to watch next

  • Definition clarity: How the bill defines "primary delivery system of instruction" will determine what is allowed.
  • Compliance timelines: Watch for effective dates and transition guidance for active charter applicants.
  • Oversight and reporting: Expect expectations for human review, incident reporting, and vendor transparency.
  • Funding signals: Potential support for teacher workload relief and AI literacy training.

Key context

The state's review of recent charter applications was described as time-intensive, prompting calls to reduce administrative burden. Meanwhile, Unbound Academic Institute continues to pursue operations in other states, underscoring the policy split across jurisdictions.

The bill's current language focuses on preventing AI from becoming the core instructional mechanism while leaving the door open to supportive uses under teacher control. As written, certified teachers remain central.

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