US states move from AI guidance to law, SETDA survey finds
State education technology leaders named AI their top priority for a second year. More states now have laws that require AI guidance for schools. More set evidence rules for buying AI tools.
Education technology leaders in US states named AI as their top priority for a second year, in a survey published on 29 October 2026.
The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), which represents these officials, said in its press release that 79% named AI a top priority. That is up from 68% in 2025. It said 23% of states now have a law that requires AI guidance for schools, up from 4% in 2024.
Our answer should not be to reject technology, and it should not be to adopt it without question.
The report draws on 73 survey responses from officials in 45 states and one territory. Most figures are shares of those respondents, not counts of states.
Rules for buying AI are getting stricter. SETDA said 53% of states have published guidance on buying AI tools. Of that guidance, 79% now sets evidence standards, up from 45% last year. But 68% of state leaders said it is hard to check vendors' claims about AI products for themselves.
EdWeek Market Brief reported that the report describes a shift from giving pupils devices to proving that the technology works. SETDA said 52% of respondents reported that their state collects no data on how its edtech is used or whether it works. It said 57% reported a strict statewide ban on pupils' phones, up from 22% in 2025.
For teachers, the fastest-growing need in the survey is training. SETDA said 62% of respondents named professional learning as a top unmet need, up from 47% in 2025. These answers come from state officials, not from teachers.
The survey does not measure what happens in classrooms or whether AI tools improve learning. The press release does not name the states that have laws requiring AI guidance.