The Illinois legislature enacted Public Act 104-0399 [105 ILCS 5/2-3.118a] on January 1, 2026, requiring the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to create statewide guidelines governing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in K-12 school settings by July 1, 2026. In the meantime, ISBE issued a guidance document on March 2, 2026, stressing that public school districts in Illinois must “review and/or revise internal policies and procedures related to AI to prevent violations related to the rights of students with IEPs [who are eligible to receive special education instruction and related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act].” It is not known exactly what prompted ISBE to issue this particular guidance, but it is a practical reminder that IEP team members must use their independent analysis and judgment when developing IEPs and not rely exclusively on AI.
The new law recognizes the power and scope of AI to transform teaching and learning practices, with cautionary language focused on bias, privacy, transparency, and risk assessment when using AI. Of special note, the law expands Internet safety instruction for K-12 students to require instruction focused on the perils of creating and distributing “false representations of individuals” created by AI, including explicit fake images and videos (i.e., deepfakes).
The ISBE guidance references three ‘archived’ documents issued by the U.S. Department of Education under the Biden Administration, including “Avoiding the Discriminatory Use of Artificial Intelligence” issued on November 22, 2024. It is worth noting that all three documents cited by ISBE were rescinded by the Department of Education on January 20, 2025.
AI is rethinking the way we learn and teach and by consequence how students are taught and what they are encouraged to prioritize.
