With No Federal AI Rules for Schools, 98 Teens Draft Their Own — in a Mock US Senate
BOSTON — Ninety-eight American teenagers spent a late-July weekend at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute doing what Congress hasn't: drafting actual legislation on how schools should handle artificial intelligence. Representing all 50 states in a precise replica of the US Senate chamber, the student senators debated and passed a model bill called the Students First Act.
The bill sets rules for both students and teachers. Teachers would be allowed to use AI for lesson planning, practice materials, and feedback, but must post a written AI-use policy each semester. If an AI-detection tool flags a student's work, the bill requires teachers to personally investigate before reporting the student to administration — a provision aimed at preventing false-positive AI-cheating accusations from escalating unchecked.
With no national policy on classroom AI use, states and districts have been left to write their own rules — a patchwork the students said they were trying to help fix, even though their bill carries no legal force. Organizers say the mock legislation will be shared with actual lawmakers as a reference model.
