The Office of Education Technology (OET) creates and shares information regarding AI in KY K-12 education, including guidance, information, standards for KY K-12 districts, and feedback from districts.
- How much AI is or is not used in schools will be the comfort that each has or does not have in AI as it relates to the educational goals and values of the district. This comfort also includes the partnerships each school and district has with education technology tools, products, and systems, and how AI is integrated or implemented in tools.
- We recommend that each KY K-12 teacher, leader, and staff member become familiar with using safe, secure, and responsible AI to help them properly weigh the benefits and drawbacks of AI.
- AI will undoubtedly be part of every KY K-12 student's and adult's future, so we need to constantly adapt as AI continues to evolve at a rapid pace each day, month, and year.
- Districts can choose to block or not block conversational AI assistant type products such as ChatGPT when KY K-12 students use the KY K-12 Internet service and/or a KY K-12 computer.
- Products that all students and adults use daily will utilize AI to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness (e.g., intelligent summaries and meeting notes).
- There is a notable difference between the skills needed to "use AI" versus the skills needed to "make AI." "Using AI" skills should be integrated into all content areas and school operations, while “making AI" skills are directly and explicitly tied to the computer sciences.
- Never share personal or confidential information when using open publicly available AI tools (e.g., chatbots, virtual assistants) including avoiding situations like well-intentioned K-12 researchers putting sensitive data into open publicly available AI systems.
- Overall, AI is expected to have its most significant positive impact in the fields of education and medicine.
- However, beyond education, AI requires safe boundaries, especially when combined with robots that can move and act independently.
AI in KY K-12. Resources that we most frequently use and make KDE staff and our school districts aware of.
The 2024-3030 Kentucky Education Technology System (KETS) Master Plan, a regulation by reference, has an area of emphasis that includes AI:
- 2024 - 2030 KETS Master Plan - Kentucky Department of Education - Encourage, engage, and empower the safe, secure, and responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in school efficiency and the learning space by teachers and students (ensuring humans remain in the loop with strong AI implementations).
- AI Guidance for KDE staff and KY K-12 districts. Districts have received regular guidance from KDE and opportunities to provide feedback to KDE and one another. KY K-12 was one of the first states to offer AI guidance to all its public-school districts. A significant percentage of Kentucky K-12 districts have already implemented AI policies and guidance within their districts: AI Guidance Brief (ky.gov)
Feedback from KY K-12 districts on AI in March 2023, March 2024, and March 2025:
AI in Education tools and resources from the Southern Regional Education Cooperative (SREB) SREB is comprised of 16 states, including KY K-12, which has had an AI committee focused on quality guidance and resources for K-12 and postsecondary. SREB's work is the best and most comprehensive available that we are aware of as it relates to K-12 and AI. We have frequently referenced these SREB resources with KDE and districts in our monthly KY K-12 CIO/EdTech Leaders webcasts, our monthly KDE Office of Education Technology (OET) Team Huddles and our KDE Leadership Team meetings. This includes sharing the individual and collective products of the AI committee as they became available.
KY K-12 Computer Science Plan: KY K-12 Annual Computer Science Report: 2025 Annual CS Report (ky.gov)
Final recommendations of the KY Legislative AI Committee in November 2025. The Special KY Legislative Committee Artificial Intelligence Task Force was established on May 30, 2025, by the Legislative Research Commission to study the issues raised in 25RS SCR 142 and bring together state and local governments, educational institutions, healthcare providers, industry, and citizens to identify needs, collect data, develop artificial intelligence solutions, foster innovation and competitiveness, promote artificial intelligence literacy, and ensure trusted artificial intelligence development and governance in Kentucky, including in the realm of datacenters. The following link outlines the activities and recommendations of the task force: Final recommendation (November 2025)
The 2024-3030 KETS Master Plan, a regulation by reference, has areas of emphasis on KY K-12 student technology skills. Continue to promote, for ALL students, the use of Kentucky-approved/ adopted KAS for Technology, KAS for Computer Sciences, and KAS for Library Media Learning (all based on national and international learner standards). Continue to provide opportunities for students to demonstrate learning connected to and through Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for Technology, KAS for Computer Sciences, and KAS for Library Media: 2024 - 2030 KETS Master Plan - Kentucky Department of Education. We will soon be updating these three technology-related academic standards to include AI.
- KY K-12 Academic Standards for Computer Science: Kentucky Academic Standards Computer Science
- KY K-12 Academic Standards for Technology. On April 5, 2019, Kentucky's minimum high school graduation requirements became effective, as outlined in 704 KAR 3:305. One of the stated requirements is centered on a student's demonstrated performance-based competency in technology upon graduation: Kentucky Academic Standards for Technology Grades Kindergarten Through Twelve.
- Kentucky Academic Standards for Library Media
Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP), directly empower students through technology.
KY K-12 Computer Science/IT Academy - Kentucky Department of Education
Additional AI related content and resources for KY K-12
Donnie Piercey's book outlines 50 strategies for teachers to utilize AI in the classroom effectively. Donnie Piercey was the 2021 KY K-12 Teacher of the Year. His book was one of the top-selling education books on Amazon when it was first released. 50 Strategies for Integrating AI into the Classroom: Donnie Piercey: 9798765947104: Amazon.com: Books
Walton Family Foundation Educator Research: Walton Family Foundation-Gallup K-12 Teacher Research June 2025.
The annual report on K-12 computer science in the United States, published by Code.org provides an update on national and state-level computer science education policy, including policy trends, maps, state summaries, and implementation data: State of Computer Science Education Report | Code.org Advocacy Coalition.
The KY K-12 Early Warning System Tool for districts is an example of how AI technology can benefit the KY K-12 system. This tool is designed to help reduce chronic absenteeism and promote persistence to graduation.
In September 2024, all KY K-12 school districts were provided with a link to watch an AI presentation to a KY legislative committee by Microsoft and Doug Robinson, the Executive Director of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). Doug provided the collective feedback received from each state government-level chief technology information officer (CIO). Doug formerly worked at the KY Commonwealth Office of Technology (COT). He is from and currently lives in KY. The YouTube link to Microsoft and NASCIO's presentation can be found at Artificial Intelligence Task Force. State Government and Artificial Intelligence Today: Governance, Policy, and Use Case Considerations Kentucky Artificial Intelligence Task Force (July 2024)
KDE's Office of Education Technology (OET) was selected to present to all other Kentucky state agencies on the topic of AI during the state's annual Digital Government Summit in May 2023 and June 2024: Kentucky Digital Government Summit 2023 (govtech.com).
Office of Educational Technology: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning - Insight and Recommendations (May 2023)
Office of Education Technology
Division of School Technology Planning and Project Management
300 Sower Blvd., 4th Floor
Frankfort, KY 40601
(502) 564-2020
Fax (502) 564-1519