AI Governance Watch: The Executive Order on AI in Education: Progress or Paradox?

New York City’s school district banned ChatGPT then reversed its decision in 2023. In 2025, the State of New Jersey awarded twelve grants to schools to experiment with new uses of AI in education. About half of states have policy guidance on AI in schools. States have differed in their enthusiasm and approaches. But, in the United States, we have lacked a uniform national strategy around the use of AI in education.

Meanwhile Japan has embraced the use of AI in schools, first, in a limited fashion since 2022, and more recently with full-throated endorsement, requiring teachers to learn to teach with AI. Singapore launched its National AI Strategy 2.0 with a strong focus on education in 2023.

Now in an effort to play catch up, the White House released an executive order on AI education last week that's both promising but also puzzling. 

The aims are laudatory; but the means are milquetoast, at best.

With the ability to personalize reading and writing exercises to each child, we could use AI to close the abysmal reading gap we face in the United States, where only 63% of 4th graders nationally achieved 'basic' reading proficiency.

Early embrace of AI could represent a useful step forward in transforming education. Adopting AI early could help us realize dramatic improvements in educational outcomes. With the ability to personalize reading and writing exercises to each child, we could use AI to close the abysmal reading gap we face in the United States, where only 63% of 4th graders nationally, achieved “basic” reading proficiency according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). In contrast to our experience with the Internet, where schools continue to play catch up in an effort to teach children how to use information and communiation technology effectively, starting now could help children learn critical AI literacy skills.

What's in the Order?

The U.S. should get serious about preparing students for an AI-driven future but the executive order doesn’t do much. 

It creates a White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Education chaired by the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. It establishes plans for a Presidential AI Challenge, promotes K-12 AI education resources through public-private partnerships, and directs the Department of Education to prioritize AI in teacher training programs. These are okay ideas. 

The Implementation Paradox

This executive order exists alongside the systematic dismantling of the Department of Education, millions in educational budget cuts from states, and cuts to university research grants for studying effective AI education methods.

But here's where things get contradictory. This executive order exists alongside:

• The systematic dismantling of the Department of Education

• Two billion in educational budget cuts from states

• Cuts to university research grants for studying effective AI education methods

• Reduced funding for digital infrastructure in underserved communities

• The abandonment of an AI safety agenda

• The lack of clarity as to why we are doing this

How exactly do we expect to implement a nationwide AI education initiative while simultaneously gutting the institutions and funding that would make it possible? 

The Private AI Problem

This AI order seems poised to introduce unregulated commercial tools without the investments in teaching, research or regulation needed to realize the benefits. So I’m unclear as to how we are going to: “develop an AI-ready workforce and the next generation of American AI innovators."

Without strong public oversight, adequate public funding and public governance of the AI we use in schools, we risk ceding control of AI education to corporate interests with their own agendas.

The order leans heavily on "public-private partnerships" with "leading AI industry organizations." This approach raises serious questions about who will ultimately shape AI education in America.

Will classroom AI tools be designed to prioritize student privacy and well-being, or to collect valuable data and create future customers? 

Will curriculum focus on critical thinking about AI's societal impacts, or simply on technical skills that benefit industry? 

Are we enhancing learning for all students or just for some?

And who is ensuring that the AI students are using is designed to improve their lives rather than the bottom line of AI developers?

Without strong public oversight, adequate public funding and public governance of the AI we use in schools, we risk ceding control of AI education to corporate interests with their own agendas.

What Would Make This Order More Effective?

For a national AI in education initiative to succeed, we need:

1. Consistent funding – Not just for flashy competitions but for sustained implementation

2. Teacher support – Beyond one-off trainings to ongoing professional development

3. Research investment – To understand what works and what doesn't

4. Equity safeguards – To ensure AI education reaches all communities

5. Public AI – To ensure educational, not commercial, priorities drive implementation, we need non-commercial AI that is publicly funded.

Making Real Progress Learning to Use AI in Education

We are making progress on using AI to improve educational outcomes. At InnovateUS, we're seeing the transformative potential of AI in education firsthand through our "Rethinking Reading: AI for Literacy Achievement" workshop series, which we're hosting in collaboration with the Burnes Center for Social Change at Northeastern University, The Learning Agency and the International Society for Technology in Education.

For example, at North Carolina Virtual Academy, educators integrated AI-powered, gamified learning tools into their summer program for struggling third-grade readers. The results were impressive — more than three-quarters of these students showed significant improvement in their reading skills.

We're seeing educators use platforms like Quill to automate routine tasks like grading, freeing up valuable time for more meaningful student interaction. Others are implementing Magpie Primaries to create adaptive learning experiences that respond to each student's progress in real-time. The enthusiasm is palpable — 87% of workshop attendees reported they were likely or very likely to apply what they learned directly in their classrooms.

Moving Forward

The executive order represents an important acknowledgment that AI literacy must be a national priority. But without addressing the fundamental contradictions between this vision and the administration's broader educational policies, it risks becoming all promise, little progress at best and a grave peril to our youth, at worst. 

Sign up for workshops on AI in education at https://innovate-us.org/literacy

In the meantime, we can glimpse what’s possible as our workshop series continues. If you're interested in seeing effective AI education in action rather than just reading about it in executive orders, I'd encourage you to join us at innovate-us.org/literacy.