State leaders are actively considering the guidance, regulations and support schools and districts need to respond to the growing presence of artificial intelligence tools. In this post, we will hear from leaders of the Florida AI K-12 Task Force about their approach to building knowledge and developing resources within the state and the lessons they have learned along the way.
How Did the Florida AI Task Force Begin?
The Florida K-12 AI Education Task Force, coordinated through the CS Everyone Center for Computer Science Education, began through early conversations between Maya Israel, Ph.D. (UF, director of CS Everyone) and Roberto Alonso (school board member, Miami-Dade County Public Schools), and others with former state Education Commissioner Manny Díaz around the need for thoughtful, research-based guidance on how AI should be integrated into K-12 education. These conversations aligned with the University of Florida’s Artificial Intelligence Initiative that touches every corner of the university, with aims to reach every corner of the world. In this case, that translates to building an agile AI curriculum for our future.
The Task Force took shape as an intentional grassroots effort focused on understanding what was actually happening in classrooms, synthesizing emerging research and translating that into practical guidance for schools across Florida. From the outset, the goal was to bring together a broad coalition across K-12, higher education, education organizations and industry to help build statewide capacity to implement AI in a way that is safe, protects student data and is grounded in effective instruction.
How Does the Task Force Support Districts, Schools and Students in the State?
The Task Force supports school districts, schools and students across Florida in several important ways. For one, we develop and regularly update practical resources, including our AI in K-12 guidance documents and teacher tips, along with family-facing materials so districts do not have to begin from scratch. These resources are designed to help local leaders make safe, pedagogically aligned decisions about AI implementation in teaching, learning and school operations.
We also see the Task Force as an important bridge between practice and policy. Part of our role is to connect what is happening in classrooms, schools and districts with the broader policy conversations shaping AI in education across Florida. That means listening closely to the experiences of educators, IT professionals, school leaders and families to ensure that their perspectives inform the tools, recommendations and guidance we produce.
Ultimately, our support is centered on students. We want to help schools put the conditions in place to protect students from potential harms associated with AI while also ensuring that they develop the AI literacy, critical thinking and responsible use skills they will need to thrive in a world where these technologies are becoming increasingly common across every sector.
What Are You Learning From Practitioners That State Policymakers Would Benefit From Knowing?
Everywhere we go, we encounter educators who are curious, motivated and genuinely eager to learn about AI in education. They are not resistant to learning about instructional applications of AI, but they want to understand how to effectively integrate AI into what they are teaching in a way that is pedagogically sound. They are also deeply thoughtful about the needs of all their learners and they express concerns about whether AI tools will serve students with disabilities, English language learners and students in under-resourced schools.
When asked about what it would take to safely and effectively integrate AI into their instructional practice, they express that they need two things: quality, job-embedded professional development and time to learn, experiment, and collaborate with other teachers around AI integration. These two needs cannot be separated. Approaches to AI integration without effective professional development or time tend to generate confusion rather than coherent practice.
We are also seeing significant variation across the state in terms of district readiness, local priorities, and existing capacity. That means a one-size-fits-all approach will not work. Educators need a flexible support system that can meet districts where they are while still advancing a shared vision for responsible AI implementation statewide.
The CS Everyone Center has partnered with the UF Lastinger Center in seeking state support for the Florida K-12 AI Education Task Force. We believe that sustained investment is needed both to coordinate Task Force activities and resources, and to provide meaningful professional development for educators. If state policymakers want AI to be implemented safely, effectively and equitably, they must recognize that capacity building and ongoing support are essential parts of the solution.
What Are You Learning From the Research Studies the Task Force Is Supporting?
Through a collaboration between CS Everyone and the Lastinger Center, we are leading a number of studies examining the impact of AI on teaching and learning across K-12 settings. An important context for understanding this work is that most studies on AI in education thus far have been relatively small in nature, and we are only now beginning to conduct research that examines AI use at scale. To help grow research opportunities, the Lastinger Center has been building out the data infrastructure to support education R&D that includes implementation and impact studies around the use of AI. That being so, the research is still unfolding and we think that is an important thing to say publicly.
We do not yet have definitive answers about what AI-supported instruction looks like at scale, or how different tools affect different learners in general or within disciplinary contexts. What we are seeing, though, is that context matters enormously. The same tool can function differently depending on how a teacher integrates it, what instructional practices the teacher uses, and what support structures are in place.
What Is Next for the Task Force? What Big Issues Do You Expect to Be Tackling in the School Year Ahead?
First, we are focused on deepening our professional learning infrastructure by moving beyond one-off workshops toward more sustained district support that helps teachers integrate effective AI usage in their specific instructional contexts. A concrete part of that work is expanding the CS Everyone AI education microcredentials program. These trainings are available to educators across the country as part of our growing effort.
Second, AI is evolving so fast that our guidance documents must be living documents rather than static reports. In that spirit, we are expanding our teacher tips and family resources so that the people closest to students have practical information that they can actually use. We are also working toward more direct, hands-on support for school districts, funding permitting. The need across the state is enormous, and we hear it clearly everywhere we go. Districts are asking for more than general guidance. They want partners who can work alongside them as they navigate implementation. That is a goal we are actively working toward.
Finally, as AI tools proliferate, we want to make sure the Task Force keeps asking hard questions about who benefits, who is harmed, and how we ensure Florida's students are not left behind. The scale of what is needed across Florida is significant, and everything we do is oriented toward meeting that need as thoroughly and as thoughtfully as we can.
