Teach Plus Illinois and Teach Plus teacher leaders applaud the General Assembly’s passage of Illinois’ first legislation on artificial intelligence in schools, which they wrote and championed. The legislation, which now awaits Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature, will require the State Board of Education to create the state’s first AI guidance for educators, update the state’s recommended internet safety curriculum to include AI, and ensure classroom teachers are part of any AI advisory group convened by the agency. Policy Fellows began this work by forming a partnership of 15 organizations to conduct a survey of educator needs on AI and publishing a report outlining their findings about an urgent need for consistent, expert-driven guidance as teachers face daily decisions about AI technology use. They then turned those recommendations into a bill, wrote op-eds and about responsible use of AI as a tool in education, and testified at the Illinois State Capitol.

Left to right: Former ISBE E-Learning director John Sonnenberg, Senior Policy Fellow Sarah Murmann, and Policy Fellow Joe Brewer testify while bill sponsor Rep. Laura Faver Dias (behind, in blue) observes.