AFT’s Weingarten Unveils 10-Point Plan to Boost Student Learning in the AI Era

Addressing the need to reconsider the role of tech in the classroom, Weingarten said, “I’m not calling for an AI ban or a Chromebook bonfire. What I am calling for is getting the balance right to harness the benefits of technology while mitigating the harms. I’m wary of the dangers of AI, but it is here to stay.” She added that without proper oversight and strong guardrails, the new technology can pose real threats to students' learning and our society.

The importance of guardrails—and to refocus on meeting students' academic, social and emotional needs—forms the heart of her 10-point plan:

• No screens for students from pre-K to second grade (unless there is a compelling reason, such as serving special needs students).
• No student-facing AI in elementary schools, and a ban on AI “social companion” chatbots for students until at least age 16.
• Redesigning schools to focus on active learning across all grade levels.
• Ensuring students have solid reading, math and civic engagement.
• Focusing on well-being and ensuring kids’ basic needs are met.
• Protecting intellectual property and academic freedom, and supporting teachers’ decisions on technology integration the classroom.
• Creating a new gold standard for safety and privacy for AI in schools.
• Establishing an independent research consortium to build a knowledge base for best practices in education, including on uses of tech and AI.
• Ensuring adequate funding of education by states and the federal government.
• Establishing a "tech tax" to ensure Big Tech pays its fair share for the disruptive consequences of AI.

Weingarten argued schools need to focus on helping students develop and apply knowledge and foster human connections in an age where AI is becoming the go-to for too many students.

About 54 percent of teenagers across the country are turning to AI to help them with their homework, according to a Pew Research Center study. It’s a figure that underscores how reliant students have become on the emerging technology.

Joshua Cowen, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University, said that AI’s role in education will continue to develop over time, namely as a research tool. “If you can help [students] find a way to use AI for fact-finding for research, with the proper guardrails there for interacting with the kinds of content they would get online, there’s some positive things they can get from that,” he said.

But as the use of AI rises in schools, so do the concerns.

A study from the Brookings Institution found that the risks AI poses greatly outweigh the benefits. It’s easy for students to become too dependent on AI and “offload” their critical thinking to a chatbot—a concern Weingarten raised as well. Students who frequently use large language models like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini to generate information or solve problems may weaken their cognitive development.

Sari Beth Rosenberg, a longtime U.S. history teacher at the High School for Environmental Studies in New York City, said she sees more of her students using AI. She has no problem with them using AI technology to do research, but using it to do their work for them is crossing the line.

“The issue is that kids will always find ways to cut corners and cheat,” she said. “There are a lot of responsibilities on their plates as students—they have sports and jobs, and they want to do well in school. But the problem is that if they just rely on AI, then they’re never actually going to prepare themselves for the job force and their lives outside of school.”

Lawmakers across the political aisle have taken note of AI’s harmful effects too. This year, legislators in more than 30 states proposed over 130 bills focused on implementing more human oversight of AI in schools. In addition, at least 38 states have put forth policies to restrict or ban cellphones in classrooms, according to EdWeek.

“We need a relentless, intentional focus on what our young people need: greater literacy, numeracy and civic engagement, and active learning that excites and engages them—all while ensuring their social and mental well-being and ability to form healthy relationships. Devices down, eyes up, hands-on,” Weingarten said.