Optimists believe AI will partner with teachers to provide customized learning resources, digital tutors, and innovative experiences tailored to individual students’ needs. Pessimists express concerns about the potential dehumanization of education, arguing that AI could increase students' reliance on digital tools, reduce meaningful human interactions, and perpetuate biases and misinformation. In this article, the authors highlight the need for education leaders and policymakers to navigate the use of AI with care, balancing its transformative potential with its inherent risks.

TeachAI—in collaboration with Code.org, CoSN, Digital Promise, the European EdTech Alliance, James Larimore, and PACE—has launched an AI Guidance for Schools Toolkit to help school systems worldwide meet the urgent need for guidance on the safe, effective, and responsible use of artificial intelligence.It helps education authorities, school leaders, teachers, and others create thoughtful guidance to help their communities realize the potential benefits of incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) in education while understanding and mitigating the potential risks.

Declining student enrollment is leading to a loss of revenue in many California school districts. To address ongoing budget shortfalls, many districts have consolidated or shuttered schools,and others are contemplating doing so. A new report and working paper, summarized in this brief, explore the racial dimensions of school closures and how to address them.

Enrollment in California public schools has been declining and is projected to fall even more steeply during the next decade. Because funding for school districts is largely based on average daily attendance rates, a decline in enrollment results in a loss of funding. To address budget shortfalls and align services with student counts, many districts have consolidated or closed schools, or they are contemplating doing so.

This study investigates racial disparities in school closures both within California and nationally. Findings highlight an alarming pattern: Schools enrolling higher proportions of Black students are at significantly increased risk of closure relative to those enrolling fewer Black students, a pattern that is more pronounced in California than elsewhere in the United States. The findings underscore that school closures in California and elsewhere reflect racial inequalities that require adequate policymaking to ensure equitable and fair school-closure proceedings.

This report examines the early implementation of California's Statewide System of Support, which is designed to empower local educators in determining the best approaches to improvement. While COEs and district officials hold positive views of the system's emphasis on support over compliance, they have concerns about under-resourcing and the effectiveness of the Dashboard measurement tool. The report provides five recommendations to make the System of Support a more comprehensive system aligned with the Local Control Funding Formula.