AI and the Law: What Do Educators Need to Know

Outline

Overview of session and initial survey

Quick participant poll: “What legal or ethical concerns around AI are most pressing in your classroom/district?”

Discussion of Key Laws & Frameworks (15 minutes)

FERPA, COPPA, GDPR / State Laws

Discussion about Privacy & Data Protection and how AI tools collect, store, and analyze data, and the risks. (10 minutes)

Guidelines for educators and schools for choosing tools and reviewing privacy policies. (10 minutes)

Discussion: Ethical & Responsible Use (15 minutes) Focus on copyright and intellectual property in generative AI, deepfakes, misinformation, and bias.

Discussion: Guidance for Educators & Leaders (10 minutes)
Activities focused on creating district policies/reviewing policies or creating a checklist (20 minutes)
Interactive Q&A and wrap-up (10 minutes)
Possibility for a game/activity to review.

Outcomes

Attendees will create their own checklist to use for vetting tools and evaluating the legal policies. It may include questions to ask before adopting any AI tool (if the privacy policy is updated, how privacy is handled, and data storage).

Supporting research

Supporting Research: iste.org/ai
teachai.org
How To Teach AI: Weaving Strategies and Activities into Any Content Area, Poth
Teaching AI, Michelle Zimmerman
www.ai4k12.org

New Federal AI Deepfake Law Takes Effect: 4 Steps Schools Must Take Under the “Take It Down” Act | Fisher Phillips https://www.fisherphillips.com/en/news-insights/new-federal-ai-deepfake-law-takes-effect.html
The Next State to Regulate AI Will Be…Texas? What You Need to Know About The Newest State AI Law | Fisher Phillips https://www.fisherphillips.com/en/news-insights/the-next-state-to-regulate-ai-will-be-texas.html

Vetting AI tools for schools? Consider these 4 pieces of advice | K-12 Dive https://www.k12dive.com/news/vetting-ai-tools-for-schools-consider-these-4-pieces-of-advice/749288/

Why AI literacy is now a core competency in education | World Economic Forum https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/05/why-ai-literacy-is-now-a-core-competency-in-education/
https://www.ropesgray.com/en/insights/alerts/2025/03/does-training-an-ai-model-using-copyrighted-works-infringe-the-owners-copyright
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/copyright-office-advises-on-3077913/
https://mashable.com/article/ai-generated-art-cant-be-copyrighted
https://reason.com/2025/08/15/colorados-ai-law-is-a-cautionary-tale-for-the-nation/
https://digitalpromise.org/product-certifications/responsibly-designed-ai/

https://www.edutopia.org/article/ai-resources-teachers

Agentic AI, Pascal Bornet, 2025
Artificial Intelligence in Education by Holmes, Bialik, Fadel
Akgun, S., & Greenhow, C. (2022). Artificial intelligence in education: Addressing ethical challenges in K-12 settings. AI and ethics, 2(3), 431–440. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-021-00096-7

Ayanwale, M.A., Sanusi, I.T., Adelana, O.P., Aruleba, K.D.,& Oyelere, S.S. (2022). Teachers’ readiness and intention to teach artificial intelligence in schools. Computers and Education Artificial Intelligence, 3, Article 1000099 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2022.100099