Florida Approves Statewide AI Rules for K-12 Schools and Colleges
Florida’s Board of Education voted Sept. 16, 2026 to require AI use policies in K-12 schools and colleges, with parental consent by July 2027.
Photo by Yan Krukau on Pexels
The Florida Board of Education voted on September 16, 2026 to adopt the state’s first statewide rules governing artificial intelligence in K-12 public schools, charter schools and the state’s 28 public colleges. The Florida AI rules for schools require districts to notify parents before a child uses an AI instructional tool, let parents opt their child out in favor of a non-AI alternative, and finalize local policies by July 1, 2027, ahead of the 2027-28 school year, according to Central Florida Public Media and News4JAX, citing the News Service of Florida.
Florida Education Commissioner Henry Mack told the board the rules were meant to get ahead of technology already in classrooms. “Artificial intelligence is already in the classroom, and the rules before you today are about keeping Florida in front, rather than reacting,” Mack said, as reported by News4JAX.
What the K-12 rules require
Districts and charter schools must notify parents whenever an AI instructional tool is approved for classroom use, naming the platform, the grades and subjects involved and how students will interact with it. Parents and guardians can then opt their child in or out of directly using the tool; schools must offer a “comparable non-AI instructional alternative” for any student who opts out, per Central Florida Public Media’s reporting.
AI tools used with students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade face additional review to confirm they are age-appropriate and aligned with Florida’s academic standards. Policies must also cover academic integrity – including plagiarism, when AI use is permitted, and how teachers verify student work – and require teachers and administrators to be trained on AI risks, limitations, safety and compliance. Students will not be allowed to use AI tools without supervision, and school staff must be able to immediately suspend or disable an AI product without vendor assistance.
The rules bar schools from adopting AI tools “designed or configured to meet a student’s social or emotional needs,” including tools built to simulate friendship, companionship or an emotional relationship with a student, or that use relationship-building features to keep students engaged – language aimed squarely at AI companion chatbots. Instructional AI also cannot use undisclosed behavior monitoring, social scoring or psychological profiling of students.
On student data, the rules prohibit AI vendors from selling, monetizing, profiling or otherwise commercially exploiting student data to train commercial AI models, and the state says districts should prioritize vendors that store and process student data in the United States. Schools must keep records of students’ AI interactions for at least 30 days so parents and administrators can review them, and must maintain a public, regularly updated list of approved AI tools while reporting usage to the Florida Department of Education.
Rules for Florida’s public colleges
The board separately approved AI requirements for Florida College System institutions. Students generally will not be permitted to use AI on graded assignments or assessments unless an instructor specifically allows it, and colleges must identify approved AI tools, protect student privacy and intellectual property, and set AI literacy guidelines. If an enrolled minor will directly use an AI instructional tool, the college must notify their parents.
Kathryn Hebda, chancellor of the Division of Florida Colleges, said the goal was to keep AI from substituting for learning itself. “We want to make sure that students are not just passing classes, but are actually learning,” she told News4JAX. “The rule is ethical, forward-looking regarding efficiency and potential, and clear-eyed in protecting students and ensuring students are in fact learning.”
Rule requirements at a glance
| Requirement | K-12 schools/districts | Public colleges |
|---|---|---|
| Policy deadline | July 1, 2027 (2027-28 school year) | Not separately dated in this reporting |
| Parental consent | Required to opt in; non-AI alternative required if opted out | Required if an enrolled student is a minor |
| Graded work | Not addressed in this reporting | AI barred on graded work unless instructor permits |
| Younger students | Extra review for pre-K to grade 5 tools | Not applicable |
| Companion/emotional AI | Prohibited | Not addressed in this reporting |
| Data retention | AI interaction records kept at least 30 days | Not addressed in this reporting |
| Reporting | Public list of approved tools; usage reported to Florida DOE | Colleges must identify approved tools |
Source: Central Florida Public Media and News4JAX / News Service of Florida, September 16-17, 2026.
Florida’s rules follow a wave of state and district-level AI policy activity this year. Winss Solutions has covered how the American Federation of Teachers, the United Federation of Teachers and Microsoft launched a national AI safety standard for schools and how New York City moved to ban student-facing AI tools from 2-K through eighth grade. Florida’s approach differs from Ohio’s mandate, which Winss Solutions reported requires every district to adopt an AI policy under a July 1, 2026 deadline, by pairing a 2027 implementation date with an explicit parental opt-in requirement for direct student use.
Background
Florida’s K-12 AI Education Task Force, led by University of Florida researcher Maya Israel, helped shape the new requirements. Israel told News4JAX and Central Florida Public Media that most Florida districts already have some form of AI policy in place but will need to update them to match the state’s new framework before the July 2027 deadline. “The main intent is to protect children from harm,” she said. The rules arrive as Florida has separately restricted smartphone use in K-12 classrooms, a policy Governor Ron DeSantis cited during the board discussion as evidence that reduced classroom technology use can improve outcomes. The state’s move places Florida among a small group of states, alongside Ohio, Maryland, Idaho, Oklahoma and Virginia, that have enacted statewide requirements for local AI-in-schools policies during 2026, though Florida’s rules are among the most detailed in addressing parental consent, companion-AI bans and student data retention.
Sources: Central Florida Public Media; News4JAX / News Service of Florida
Featured image: photo by Yan Krukau on Pexels (free Pexels license).
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I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.
