AI Education in K-12 Classes Might Become US Policy, Per Trump EO Draft

AI education may soon be coming to a school near you. President Donald Trump is considering issuing an executive order that would allow K-12 public schools to implement AI training for students, according to a draft policy reportedly shared with several federal agencies and reviewed by The Washington Post.

The policy would also require federal agencies to integrate AI into classroom-related functions and processes. To support the rollout of these programs in schools, the agencies would be asked to collaborate with the private sector.The draft policy is labeled “predecisional,” which means it is still under review and could change or be withdrawn.

Details from the EO draft on AI education

According to the EO draft obtained by The Washington Post, 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 would be established under the terms of the draft order. It would be chaired by Michael Kratsios, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and would include the secretaries of Education, Agriculture, Labor, and Energy, along with David Sacks, Trump’s special adviser for AI and cryptocurrency.

Federal agencies would be 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 draft order. The inclusion of “AI literacy” in tandem with “critical thinking” may strike some as odd, given that they are generally contradictory terms. 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 draft also proposes that Education Secretary Linda McMahon prioritize grants to help train teachers in using AI tools for classroom support and performance evaluation. Educators across disciplines would be required to take part in professional development aimed at weaving AI into lesson plans and learning activities, the draft states.

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

While K-12 education is the focus of the order, it notes that, “Our Nation must also make resources available for lifelong learners to develop new skills for a changing workforce.”

Read eWeek’s coverage about Anthropic’s New Education-Specific Learning Mode and how China’s AI education is starting at age six.
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