An artificial intelligence and social media safety bill more than a year in the making is progressing toward passage after receiving unanimous, bipartisan support in the latest vote on it by the North Carolina Senate. House Bill 301 would overhaul current standards of AI in schools, regulating and mandating AI education and customs for both students and educators, and give special attention to AI’s impact on the computer science discipline.
If the measure becomes law, the Department of Public Instruction would partner with NC State University’s Friday Institute for Educational Innovation to provide training to teachers and administrators.
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“This legislation is really about protecting our children,” Sen. Dana Jones, R-Forsyth, said during the floor vote earlier this month.
“This bill provides common sense guardrails to help children, parents and educators navigate the digital world safely, creating a strong foundation for responsible AI use in the classroom and giving parents an additional tool to protect their children from addictive social media platforms.”
Revising standards
In an update to the state’s general statutes in 2023, the legislature mandated a passing grade in a computer science course — defined as the study of computers and algorithmic processes, including their principles, hardware and software designs, implementation and impact on society — for public middle or high schoolers. The amendment required DPI to adopt and post a list of approved courses to fulfill the requirement.
Since then, computer science has been one of the fields most impacted by the artificial intelligence boom. In September, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed computer science graduates having one of the highest rates of unemployment at 6.1%, Carolina Public Press previously reported. Updated data now puts that figure at 7% just months later, with computer engineering even higher at 7.8%
The legislature seems keenly aware of this new plight. The bill states the State Board of Education shall revise the mandated computer science education for grades K-12 to include AI literacy and update course lists accordingly, beginning with the 2028-29 school year.
By Dec. 15, 2028, DPI will report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee to report their adoption and implementation of the standards, alignment of approved courses with the new standards and any difficulties with implementation.
The change would come at a time when universities are scrambling to alter their approach to computer science education as companies like Microsoft and Amazon lay off employees whose primary jobs, like coding and debugging, can now be accomplished by bots. Mississippi and Georgia have both passed similar legislation mandating computer science education, informed by changes brought on by AI.
If passed, the State Board of Education must also adopt age-appropriate AI literacy standards for K-12 and update them every two years “to keep up with advancements of AI.” It would amend the same statute calling for computer science education.
The standards must include at least: responsible and ethical use of AI; limitations of AI tools; evaluation and verification of outputs provided by AI tools; data and privacy concerns related to AI tools; and best practices and safety when interacting with AI or AI chatbots.
Public school unit artificial intelligence policies
Along with regulating courses that teach about artificial intelligence, DPI will need to develop a “model policy” for how districts across the state use and think about AI.
The policy will need to at least include: definitions of AI, generative AI and AI tools; guidance on how to develop the AI literacy of students and school staff, including education about nonconsensual intimate imagery; data privacy and security measures to protect students and staff when using AI; and standards of ethical and acceptable use of AI and chatbots in an educational setting, including academic integrity standards.
After review of DPI’s model policy, local boards of education, charter schools and regional schools must adopt their own policy on the use of AI by students and staff for educational purposes.
Sen. Joyce Waddell, D-Mecklenburg, raised concerns about the bill putting the onus on DPI and school districts without providing additional funding, though she later voted in favor of the bill.
“In my 11 years of working in professional development, we saw a lot of this,” she said.
“We’re asked to do — school systems, school districts were asked to do — more with less and carry out training without having necessary funding. So specifically, the bill requires public school units to develop and implement policies governing the use of artificial intelligence in education. And remember too, we have a lot of retirees who are coming back teaching, and they’ll be involved in some of this … While the goal is worthwhile development and comprehensive, all policy is not a simple administrative task.”
Waddell attempted to amend the bill to provide DPI $5 million in nonrecurring funds to help implement some of the asks, but a majority of senators voted her requested amendment and others to be momentarily set aside.
AI tool evaluation framework
The bill calls for DPI to establish and maintain a framework that provides “criteria and guiding considerations for evaluating generative artificial intelligence-powered educational tools.” DPI must review and update the framework and its criteria at least every two years to reflect changes in technology, evidence or educational practice.
The framework will need to address at least: student data privacy, security and transparency; alignment with the standard course of study; accessibility for all students.
Under the bill, DPI must maintain a publicly available list of AI tools that have been reviewed under the framework and are being used in public school units, as well as establish “procurement guidance, qualified vendor lists and other mechanisms to support and incentivize the adoption of AI tools that have been reviewed under the framework.”
The change could impact programs like the one at the center of omnibus education bill S1006, which would institute a controversial arrangement with education technology organization Khan Academy’s AI tutoring program, Khanmigo. The bill would allocate around $10 million in recurring state funds for the organization in order to create a state AI Academic Support Program, although Khan Academy’s own founder has noted it has not been as impactful in classrooms as he had hoped.
“Under the proposal, participating districts would use state funds to purchase Khanmigo, which is designed to help teachers with lesson planning and answer student questions about coursework,” NC Newsline reported.
“Funding would be distributed based on enrollment in grades 6 through 12. Districts that opt in would review the program each year before deciding whether to renew contracts.”
Educator and administrator training on the use of AI
DPI could partner with the Friday Institute to design, produce and support implementation of “a suite of tool-agnostic online training modules 20 and related training resources.” Part of NC State’s College of Education, the Friday Institute focuses on helping K-12 schools in North Carolina advance through innovation in teaching, learning and leadership.
According to HB301, modules would address: AI fundamentals for educators, responsible instructional use of AI, verification and quality control, academic integrity, data privacy and security, bias in AI systems, accessible usage with special populations and ethical use and professional responsibility.
Resources developed by the Friday Institute would be made available to schools by June 30, 2027, and educators would have a year to complete the professional development training.
Teaching AI literacy to teachers, not just students, has been a point of concern for some. In a Gallup poll released in May 2026, just 18% of teachers said they received formal guidance from school administrators on how AI should be used.
“AI tools are becoming a routine part of teachers’ professional lives, but the institutional guidance that might help teachers use them thoughtfully and effectively has not kept pace,” the study states.
“For most teachers, there is no formal policy, leaving individuals to make consequential decisions in a policy vacuum. … Schools and districts willing to invest in clear AI guidance could both reduce ambiguity for teachers and promote more confident, effective adoption. For now, most are not providing that direction — leaving most teachers to navigate the AI landscape on their own or with patchwork support.”
Other states are attempting to close the gap, too. Maryland and Virginia have passed similar initiatives, including teacher training. Ohio, Utah and Oklahoma and are requiring schools to adopt an AI policy.
Bipartisan support
The bill passed its second and third readings unanimously in the state Senate earlier this month, though without a number of the suggested amendments. Although all of the sponsors of the bills are Republicans, Sen. Sydney Batch, D-Wake, praised the support for the bill extending beyond party lines.
“I have two teenage boys in my house, and I know the power of AI and also social media addiction, and so I really appreciate us bringing this to this chamber in a bipartisan way, and really addressing the needs of our youth,” she said.
Gov. Josh Stein has made AI literacy a priority during his term so far, passing an executive order to ensure the state’s leadership in AI literacy, governance and deployment and establishing an advisory group to discuss how schools can responsibly integrate AI.
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