SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois State Board of Education this month released statewide guidance to help schools decide when and how to use artificial intelligence in K-12 classrooms and district operations. The document comes after the General Assembly directed the board to create such guidance under legislation enacted in 2025.
Guidance written with AI assistance
One striking detail in the release: the guidance itself was developed with assistance from popular AI programs including ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. The board disclosed where it used AI and where human judgment remained central — an approach some local advocates praised as a model for transparency.
“Upfront, they said, ‘We did use AI,’ and they were very clear and specific about how they used AI,” said Bill Curtin, Illinois policy director for the nonprofit advocacy group Teach Plus.
Curtin said that level of openness can build trust by removing doubts about whether a document was produced by a human or machine and by identifying which parts reflect human review and intent.
Why the guidance was required
The guidance fulfills a requirement in Senate Bill 1920, passed in 2025, that asked the Illinois State Board of Education to lay out how artificial intelligence may be used at district, school and classroom levels. The law responded to growing concern over student access to AI tools that can be used for homework, research and writing, and to requests from educators for practical direction on constructive classroom uses.
Advocates and teachers called for clarity after a 2024 survey by Teach Plus and the Illinois Digital Educator Alliance (IDEA) found educators worried about AI’s impact on learning, privacy and information quality.
- Common educator concerns included threats to student learning if AI is misused, risks to student privacy and the potential for AI to provide inaccurate or harmful information.
- Teachers also sought guidance on productive uses of AI, such as lesson planning and grading assistance.
What the guidance aims to do
The board framed the document as a tool for local leaders and classroom teachers to make informed choices about AI adoption. The guidance highlights both uses to consider and uses to avoid, and it emphasizes transparency in declaring when AI has been used.
ISBE’s decision to acknowledge AI assistance in drafting the guidance itself underscores one of the document’s central themes: that clear disclosure of AI use helps districts weigh benefits and risks.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Legislation requiring guidance | Senate Bill 1920 (2025) |
| AI tools used to draft guidance | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini |
| Survey cited | Teach Plus and IDEA (2024) |
Districts will still set local policy based on community priorities, legal obligations and student needs. The state guidance is intended as a framework rather than a one-size-fits-all rulebook.
For educators and parents, the guidance may offer practical steps to reduce risks — for example, to protect student data and to evaluate the accuracy of AI-generated material — while enabling teachers to experiment with AI tools for instructional planning and assessment support.
The ISBE release marks a notable example of how public agencies are navigating the line between using AI as a tool and governing its role in public education. It also raises questions districts will now have to answer locally: when to allow AI-generated work, how to update academic integrity policies, and how to train staff to recognize and manage AI-driven content.
As districts review the state guidance, local school boards and administrators across Illinois will consider how to adapt those recommendations to budgets, staffing and the priorities of students and families.
