Adults have struggled to set rules for AI in school. These teens figured it out

NPR >

Learning in the age of AI

Adults have struggled to set rules for AI in school. These teens figured it out

By Cory Turner

Thursday, July 30, 2026 • 5:00 AM EDT

Heard on All Things Considered

Catch up on what you missed with our Education newsletter, sent weekly.

BOSTON — Over the course of one frantic, late-July weekend, 98 teens representing all 50 states put their busy lives on hold to try to do something remarkable.<br>The students, most of them high school juniors and seniors, gathered in a precise replica of the U.S. Senate chamber and attempted what the real, adult Congress has largely failed to do: draft and pass "legislation" to help the nation's K-12 schools navigate the questions and chaos created by artificial intelligence.<br>Should students be allowed to use AI on assignments? What about on tests? Is it schools' job to teach the nation's children what AI is and how to use it? There is no national policy for AI use in schools, meaning states and school districts have had to scramble to craft their own.<br>"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to actually help and try to change the country for the better," said student Gabriel Sutphin, representing South Carolina, speaking from the chamber floor at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.

Related Story: NPR<br>To these teens, the stakes for getting ahead of AI are clear. They pointed out how adult leaders were slow to protect students from the risks of other tech developments.<br>"We missed the mark with social media and phones," said Hunter Wurzel, a high school senior representing Ohio. "That's been a huge talking point already [this weekend], is how we failed to implement those things into education and teach the youth how to use them."<br>Wurzel and his 97 colleagues were handpicked by their school leaders and hosted by a handful of education- and tech-focused groups, including the Edward M. Kennedy Institute, AASA (The School Superintendents Association), and Day of AI, a nonprofit launched out of MIT's RAISE AI literacy initiative.<br>At times during the weekend, where NPR was able to watch the events unfold, the bill seemed doomed, only to be revived by a flurry of student-led negotiation, old-fashioned compromises and some spirited speeches.<br>"[This bill] is about who gets a seat at the table. Today, students have that seat," Bena Mejia Romero of Connecticut told her fellow senators before the final vote.<br>Ultimately, their Students First Act passed overwhelmingly, 82-16.<br>Among the bill's requirements: States should provide AI literacy as soon as students get access to classroom devices; AI use should be banned on all graded tests; and teachers can require an oral defense of any project from a student suspected of using AI inappropriately. (You can read the full bill at the end of this article.)<br>"The adults themselves haven't been able to come to consensus on this, right? And so now it falls to the kids. Let them lead the way," said Jeffrey Riley, the executive director of Day of AI and former education commissioner of Massachusetts.

Related Story: NPR<br>While the Students First Act isn't actually law, any more than the teens are actually senators, AASA plans to send the text to its members: 10,000 school leaders across the country, many of whom are right now crafting their own AI rules in the absence of regulation.<br>Rules for students

When students arrived at the start of the weekend, they were presented with a stew of policies that they had suggested in the run-up to the event. Then they were divided into subcommittees — focused on students, educators, administrators and families — to debate the dozens of proposals and create a coherent bill they could all support.<br>The student-focused section of the final bill includes 15 provisions, several focused on a concern many of the senators shared: that teens are using AI to do their thinking for them.<br>Without guidance and guardrails, "[AI use] is just gonna go unhinged," said Campbell McHenry, a high school junior from Mississippi. "Everyone's gonna stop learning and start relying on AI. Instead of using it as a tool, they're gonna use it as a brain."<br>Among the bill's student-focused proposals:<br>Approved uses : Students should not be allowed to use AI for writing, "though editing, brainstorming and studying" with AI should be allowed after eighth grade.<br>Prove mastery : Students permitted to use AI should have to cite how they used it and demonstrate their grasp of a subject through discussions, handwritten tests or oral defenses.<br>Plagiarism review : Any student suspected of using AI inappropriately should have their work reviewed not just by AI checker software, which can be unreliable, but also two school officials.

One of the most contentious issues was deciding when students should first be exposed to AI in the classroom: High school? Middle school? Earlier?<br>Lucia Herrera, a Missouri high...