Charting the Course
Table of Contents
CORE VALUES
Responsible Use, Monitoring, and Evaluation:
Establishing safeguards to ensure AI applications support learning and growth for all students and identifying steps for monitoring the impact of AI applications on student learning and growth.
Collaboration and Collective Impact:
Strengthen support networks—families, communities, educators, and industry partners—so that each learner benefits fully from AI opportunities and knowledge and resources reach every corner of Florida.
Transparency and Open Communication:
Making AI systems transparent and understandable to students, teachers, administrators, and parents, so they can trust and make informed decisions about their use.
Critical, Ethical, and Sustainable Decision Making:
Encouraging a community-wide commitment to fair and responsible AI usage, guided by human oversight and professional judgment, ensuring our collective choices support both educational excellence and the health and sustainability of our planet.
Data Protection and Privacy:
Protecting users’ data and ensuring that AI systems do not violate the privacy rights of students, families, educators, and educational organizations.
Curiosity and Lifelong Learning:
Fostering a culture of ongoing education where every community member, from young learners to experienced professionals, embraces new technologies and ideas.
By centering our AI recommendations around collective empowerment, we lay the groundwork for a robust, future-ready Florida. When parents, guardians, educators, business leaders, and policymakers collaborate to ensure ethical and effective uses of AI, students gain more than just technical know-how. They develop a sense of belonging, resilience, and purpose—equipping them to become responsible citizens and innovative problem-solvers. This collective commitment places Florida’s K–12 ecosystem at the forefront of educational excellence and social progress—fulfilling our shared promise of success and well-being for every learner.
Ecosystem Roles & Recommendations
This section offers concise, targeted guidance for each of the key groups within Florida’s K-12 AI ecosystem, as identified by the Task Force. For each group, we clarify both our vision for their interactions with AI within this ecosystem and key recommendations for achieving this vision. .
Students
Vision
- Students are active participants in AI-related decisions, with the knowledge and confidence to voice concerns or ideas.
- They responsibly and ethically use AI tools to enhance their learning and develop critical thinking skills.
- They see the connections between AI and real-world applications, discovering potential career pathways.
Task Force Goals
- AI Literacy Curriculum Recommendations: Infuse foundational AI concepts into existing subjects and grade levels.
- Safety & Ethics Workshops: Embed consistent, developmentally-appropriate lessons on digital citizenship, data privacy, and responsible usage of AI.
- Mentorship & Guidance: Facilitate peer-learning networks and showcase a range of career opportunities in AI-related fields.
Teachers & Instructional Coaches
Vision
- Teachers feel confident integrating AI tools to augment instruction without compromising their pedagogical and ethical standards.
- They have ongoing support and resources to remain current on AI trends in education, pedagogical strategies, and data privacy.
- They collaborate with peers, sharing best practices and refining teaching methods in a supportive community.
Task Force Goals
Professional Development: Provide flexible, tiered AI learning opportunities covering responsible implementation, best practices, and iterative refinement.
Ethical Frameworks: Distribute practical guidelines on safety in data collection, student privacy, and responsible AI usage.
Resource Sharing: Foster communities of practice where teachers and other instructional personnel exchange innovative approaches and classroom-tested AI lessons.
Parents, Guardians, & Community Members
Vision
- Families and community members understand the role AI plays in education and feel informed and knowledgeable about data privacy and student well-being.
- They actively engage in AI-related discussions and decisions, offering insights and support that reflect local needs and enhance student learning and future career readiness.
Task Force Goals
- AI Literacy Sessions: Host regular workshops or forums (including student-led) that tackle emerging questions on AI in education.
- Regular Updates: Provide user-friendly newsletters or short videos explaining new AI programs and tools.
- Volunteer & Mentor Networks: Involve local businesses, nonprofits, and skilled community members in student projects or events.
Administration (School & District Leaders)
Vision
- School and district leaders envision strategic plans for AI, aligning with state standards and community values.
- They balance innovation with clear policies and budgeting, maintaining robust infrastructure needed for AI.
- They continuously assess AI’s impact on their school and district, adjusting strategies as needed.
Task Force Goals
- Policy & Governance: Develop and maintain clear guidelines for AI tool usage, data security, and professional development (admin and teacher).
- Monitoring & Evaluation: Provide metrics to measure the impact of AI tools and supports on learning, school life, access, and equity.
- Budget & Resource Allocation: Identify diverse funding sources and research-based resources to support infrastructure needs.
Education IT & Technology Support Staff
Vision
- Tech teams maintain secure, reliable systems that support AI initiatives while proactively ensuring data privacy.
- They collaborate seamlessly with educators, administrators, and community advisors to implement best practices.
- Their proactive approach to implementing upgrades, providing training, and managing troubleshooting ensures AI tools are effective and user-friendly.
Task Force Goals
- Infrastructure Readiness: Provide a roadmap for infrastructure sustainability to support AI.
- Data Management Policies: Offer guidelines and updates that support the establishment of robust and safe data modernization, governance, and retention practices.
- Continuous Support: Identify technical training and professional development to support troubleshooting with AI-based technology.
Universities, Colleges, & Research Institutions
Vision
- Universities and other research entities act as thought leaders, creating open-access platforms for AI best practices, curricula, teacher preparation, and new findings.
- They bridge gaps between theory and practice, collaborating with educators to co-develop and test innovative AI approaches.
- They foster ongoing advancement , ensuring Florida remains on the cutting edge of AI in education.
Task Force Goals
- Central Knowledge Base: Develop open repositories of research findings, ready-to-use curricula and lesson plans, and case studies.
- Networking Events: Sponsor in-person or virtual conferences for educators, policymakers, and tech experts.
- Research Partnerships: Support pilot programs that analyze AI’s long-term impacts on student and teacher performance and well-being.
- Teacher Preparation Pathways: Develop flexible approaches to preparing both preservice and inservice teachers in integrating AI into K-12 education
Tech Companies & Industry Partners
Vision
- Industry partners provide tools tailored to educational needs, meeting Florida’s data privacy and security requirements.
- They collaborate openly with schools, listening to educator, parent, and student feedback to refine AI solutions.
- Their commitment to ethical co-design fosters trust and meaningful integration of AI in the classroom.
Task Force Goals
- Collaboration Agreements: Provide recommendations for defining data-sharing and privacy terms in vendor contracts.
- Meaningful Participatory Design: Offer guidelines for companies to work closely with educators and parents to address genuine classroom and learning challenges.
- PD & Ongoing Support: Host webinars and facilitate a resource network to remain responsive to school needs and feedback.
K-12 AI Readiness Checklists
“Are you ready to integrate Generative AI in your district?”
That’s the question at the heart of CoSN’s Generative AI Readiness Checklists — a detailed questionnaire designed to help K–12 leaders assess whether their school system can successfully and responsibly implement emerging AI technologies. Broken into six key domains, each set of questions prompts reflection on pivotal areas ranging from leadership commitment to data governance and cybersecurity practices. And most importantly, the table below can be applied broadly, beyond Generative AI!
Executive Leadership Readiness (24 Questions)
Explored strategy, legislation and administrative rules, use policy, and equity.
Operational Readiness (9 Questions)
Considers procurement and staffing availability and processes.
Data Readiness (25 Questions)
Focuses on data governance, quality, and privacy policies for integration.
Technical Readiness (16 Questions)
Assesses readiness for challenges and opportunities surrounding identity and access management, tracking and monitoring, technical controls, and hallucinations of inappropriate content.
Security Readiness (7 Questions)
Gauges the district’s security safeguards and cybersecurity training.
Legal/Risk Management (12 Questions)
Reviews district practices regarding legal remediation, risk management, and loss notification.
Implementation Roadmap
Adopt a progressive, step-by-step methodology that allows for regular assessment and refinement. This approach ensures that the AI integration process can evolve to address emerging challenges and leverage new opportunities effectively.
Leverage existing initiatives, infrastructure, and systems for AI-integration. It is important to build AI integration into already-existing systems where possible in order to ensure that AI adoption aligns with current practices.
Exploration
Emphasizing an understanding the local context, assessing AI readiness, and identifying promising opportunities for AI integration.
Foundation
Creating a stable base from which AI initiatives can grow, including building foundational community skills and awareness and running small-scale pilots.
Expansion
Broadening impact and enabling effective AI integration by formalizing PD pathways and strengthening infrastructure and support networks.