A bipartisan majority of American voters want stricter federal rules governing artificial intelligence in K-12 classrooms, according to new polling from the progressive think tank The Century Foundation shared exclusively with Scripps News. The survey of 2,002 registered voters, conducted by Morning Consult in late May, found that 77% support stronger government standards for how AI tools are used in schools - including 76% of Democrats and 80% of Republicans.
The findings come as millions of students return to classrooms where AI tools have already become routine, and as the Trump administration maintains a largely hands-off approach to regulating educational AI. "We saw a very broad, bipartisan desire for the government to step in and to create some really basic rules of the road," said Julie Margetta Morgan, president of The Century Foundation and a former Biden administration Department of Education official.
Broad concern across party lines
The poll tested a range of worries about AI in schools - from students using the tools to complete assignments, to job-market readiness, to mental health effects - and every concern registered at 80% or higher. "People were quite united," Margetta Morgan said. "Every type of concern that we tested related to technology... they all tested at 80% or more, so there's really broad concern across the board."
That consensus is striking in a polarized political climate. Republicans were slightly more likely than Democrats to support stricter rules, a finding that reflects unease about the technology's rapid spread rather than partisan positioning. The poll also asked some respondents whether they wanted more regulation from local school districts and others whether they wanted federal action - and drew "nearly identical results," according to TCF officials.
"I think it just really speaks to the level of concern that parents have about the role of technology, and also to that sense that there just really aren't any rules here," Margetta Morgan said.
Classroom reality vs. federal policy
Students and teachers describe a landscape where AI use is already widespread, regardless of formal policy. "Students are using AI whether I like it or not, it's kind of the way it is now," said Angela Hardin, a high school English teacher at Model Laboratory School in Richmond, Kentucky. Sophia Mahajerin, a junior at Forest Hills Eastern High School in Ada, Michigan, said she can "ask it anything, and it'll give me an answer," but added: "I think one of the negatives is that I've become very reliant."
The Trump administration has focused on encouraging AI adoption rather than regulating it. Last year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order promoting AI literacy and proficiency in education, establishing a "Presidential Artificial Intelligence Challenge" and a "White House Task Force on AI Education." The task force has met at least three times, with the most recent public update in December 2025, but has released few details about outcomes or next steps.
Department of Education officials have argued that specific AI rules should be developed at the state and local level. "The question before education leaders is not whether technology can support learning, but whether individual tools are selected, implemented, and evaluated in ways that advance specific education goals," Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education Kirsten Baesler wrote earlier this month. "The U.S. Department of Education believes these decisions are best made by states and local communities, with input from parents and teachers."
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon echoed that stance in a White House interview Monday. Asked about regulation, she said officials "haven't really talked about regulating" AI. "What we are talking about is making sure that we're embracing AI," McMahon said. "We need to embrace this technology, but it has to have guardrails because it's very important that we understand that AI cannot replace a teacher in the classroom."
Existing privacy laws don't fit the AI era
Two federal laws govern aspects of student data, but neither was designed for AI. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), enacted in 1974, restricts disclosure of personally identifiable student information. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), passed in 1998, limits how commercial companies collect data from children under 13.
Privacy advocates say both laws have loopholes that matter in the AI context. They primarily protect "personally identifiable information," which means companies can potentially train AI models on anonymized student data without violating either statute. COPPA also allows schools to consent on behalf of parents for classroom technology, giving districts broad authority to approve AI tools without parental sign-off - provided the data is used strictly for educational purposes.
"We're really in the 'Wild West' here," Margetta Morgan said. "With both data collection through ed-tech apps and also the use of AI, those rules aren't really equipped for modern situations. Parents and teachers are both finding that there are some places where there would be basic rules of the road, and they really don't exist."
The Department of Education has pointed to parental opt-out rights as a safeguard. "If the parent is not seeing [a positive] outcome, the parent has every right to go in and say, 'No, I want something different for my child,'" McMahon said on CNN Sunday. The White House did not respond to questions about the president's approach to AI in schools.
For educators navigating this uncertainty, the practical question is how to use AI tools productively while students, parents, and policymakers push for clearer boundaries. Resources like AI for Education coverage and the AI Learning Path for Teachers offer guidance on classroom applications, but the broader policy gaps remain unresolved at the federal level.
Why this matters for educators
Teachers are caught between two pressures: students who already use AI daily and administrators who expect AI literacy to be part of instruction. The polling suggests parents want guardrails, but federal guidance remains thin - leaving individual districts to set their own rules. Educators should document how AI tools are being used in their classrooms and be prepared to explain those choices to parents, since the legal framework for student data protection is unlikely to change soon. The gap between classroom reality and federal policy is not closing; it's widening.
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