# School Districts Regulate AI in Education

School districts and teacher unions, including major entities like the New York City Department of Education and Los Angeles Unified School District, have taken cautious and sometimes inconsistent approaches to regulating artificial intelligence (AI) use in classrooms. These efforts include negotiating binding agreements with technology vendors such as Microsoft to protect student data privacy. Concurrently, federal legislative proposals are advancing toward stringent AI regulations that could impose high compliance barriers, potentially limiting participation to larger AI developers and consolidating market power. Procurement professionals and contractors serving the education sector should closely track these evolving AI policy frameworks at both local and federal levels, as they will directly influence future technology procurement, contract requirements, and vendor eligibility in educational settings.

- School districts like New York City and Los Angeles are actively engaging with AI vendors to establish enforceable data protection agreements, signaling a procurement emphasis on privacy and compliance.
- Federal legislative initiatives may introduce mandatory AI regulatory standards that could affect contract specifications and vendor qualifications, especially impacting smaller AI technology providers.
- Vendors such as Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic are key partners in current AI deployments and negotiations, highlighting the competitive landscape for education technology contracts.
- Procurement teams should prepare for increased scrutiny on AI solutions' compliance with student data protections and evolving regulatory mandates, influencing contract terms and vendor selection criteria.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Education, Information Technology
**Topics:** Artificial Intelligence, Regulatory Compliance
**Published:** September 18, 2026

### Government Entities
- American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
- United Federation of Teachers (UFT)
- New York City Department of Education
- Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)
- United States Senate (Senate)

### Vendors
- Microsoft (partner and contract party)
- OpenAI (partner)
- Anthropic (partner)

### Key Quotes
> This $500 million investment signals our commitment to modernizing legacy systems over the next five years.
> — Brad Smith, Vice Chair, Microsoft

> Anything less than legally enforceable provisions is simply a wish list.
> — Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers

> Greater than a 10 percent chance AI kills us all within the next decade.
> — Evan Hubinger, Alignment Science Lead, Anthropic

### Sources
- [Unions and school districts have been clumsy AI regulators -Capital Research Center    ](https://capitalresearch.org/article/unions-and-school-districts-have-been-clumsy-ai-regulators) - Capital Research Center