AI Education in K-12 Becomes US Policy Under New Trump Executive Order

AI education is officially coming to a school in the US near you. US President Donald Trump has signed the Executive Order on Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth, which allows K-12 public schools to implement AI training for students. The order also requires federal agencies to integrate AI into classroom-related functions and processes. To support the rollout of these programs in schools, the agencies are instructed to collaborate with the private sector.

Details from the EO on AI education

According to the EO issued on April 23, 2025, AI is “driving innovation across industries, enhancing productivity, and reshaping the way we live and work. To ensure the United States remains a global leader in this technological revolution, we must provide our Nation’s youth with opportunities to cultivate the skills and understanding necessary to use and create the next generation of AI technology.” 

A White House task force on AI education has been established under the terms of the executive order. It is chaired by Michael Kratsios, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and includes the secretaries of Education, Agriculture, Labor, and Energy, along with David Sacks, Trump’s special adviser for AI and cryptocurrency.

Federal agencies are instructed to form public-private partnerships with industry, academia, and nonprofit organizations to teach students “foundational AI literacy and critical thinking skills,’’ according to the order. The inclusion of “AI literacy” in tandem with “critical thinking” may strike some as contradictory. For example, a recently released study by Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University noted that, “GenAI tools appear to reduce the perceived effort required for critical thinking tasks among knowledge workers, especially when they have higher confidence in AI capabilities.”

The order also directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to prioritize grants to help train teachers in using AI tools for classroom support and performance evaluation. Educators across disciplines will take part in professional development aimed at integrating AI into lesson plans and learning activities.

A competition for students and educators to demonstrate their AI skills — dubbed the “Presidential Artificial Intelligence Challenge” — has been established, and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is  required to develop registered apprenticeships in AI-related occupations.

While K-12 education is the focus of the order, it states, “Our Nation must also make resources available for lifelong learners to develop new skills for a changing workforce.”Read eWeek’s coverage about how China’s AI education is starting at age six and Anthropic’s New Education-Specific Learning Mode.TechnologyAdvice staff writer Liz Ticong contributed to the updated version of this article.
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