AFT’s Weingarten unveils 10-point plan to boost student learning in the AI era

As the nation's classrooms are quickly being shaped by artificial intelligence and screens, schools need to focus more on human connection, critical thinking, collaboration and hands-on learning.

AFT President Randi Weingarten delivers a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on May 27. During the speech, the union president spoke about the importance of schools fostering human connections in an age of artificial intelligence. She unveiled a 10-point plan that addresses concerns around AI and technology in schools. Credit: AFT

That was the main message behind AFT President Randi Weingarten's speech to educators, parents and community members at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., May 27.

Weingarten, who is cautiously optimistic about the use of AI in schools, said that without proper oversight and strong guardrails, the new technology can pose real threats to our society.

"I'm not calling for an AI ban or a Chromebook bonfire," she said. "What I am calling for is getting the balance right to harness the benefits of technology while mitigating the harms. I'm wary of the dangers of AI, but it is here to stay."

A focal point of the speech was the AFT's 10-point plan to address the growing national concern around tech and AI in the classroom. The plan-which aims to boost student learning and academic success in the AI era-is built on Weingarten's "devices down, eyes up, hands-on" strategy, a teaching framework that emphasizes hands-on learning and applying classroom lessons amid the technological shifts that have changed the K-12 landscape.

In short, the plan's points are:

• No screens for students from pre-K to second grade.
• No student-facing AI in elementary schools, and a ban on AI "companion" chatbots for students under 16.
• Redesigning schools to focus on active learning across all grade levels.
• Ensuring students have solid reading, math and civic engagement skills.
• Focusing on well-being and ensuring kids' basic needs are met.
• Protecting intellectual property and academic freedom, and supporting teachers' decisions on technology integration the classroom.
• A new gold standard for safety and privacy for AI in schools.
• Establishing an independent research consortium to build a knowledge base for best practices in education.
• Ensuring adequate funding of education by states and the federal government.
• Ensuring Big Tech pays its fair share for the disruptive consequences of AI.

Weingarten argued schools need to focus on fostering human connections in an age where AI is becoming the go-to for students to get answers.

About 54 percent of teenagers across the country are turning to AI to help them with their homework, according to a Pew Research Center study. It's a figure that underscores how reliant students have become on the emerging technology.

Joshua Cowen, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University, said that AI's role in education will continue to develop over time, namely as a research tool.

"If you can help [students] find a way to use AI for fact-finding for research, with the proper guardrails there for interacting with the kinds of content they would get online, there's some positive things they can get from that," he said.

But as the use of AI rises in schools, so do the concerns.

A study from the Brookings Institution found that the risks AI poses greatly outweigh the benefits. It's easy for students to become too dependent on AI and "offload" their critical thinking to a chatbot. Students who frequently use large language models like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini to generate information or solve problems are susceptible to experiencing cognitive declines.

Sari Beth Rosenberg, a longtime U.S. history teacher at the High School for Environmental Studies in New York City, said she sees more of her students using AI. She has no problem with them using technology to do research, but using AI to do their work for them is crossing the line.

"The issue is that kids will always find ways to cut corners and cheat," she said. There's a lot of responsibilities on their plates as students-they have sports and jobs, and they want to do well in school. But the problem is that if they just rely on AI, then they're never actually going to prepare themselves for the job force and their lives outside of school."

Lawmakers across the political aisle have taken note of AI's harmful effects too. As of May, more than 130 bills have been filed in Congress focusing on implementing more human oversight of AI in schools. On the local level, at least 38 states have put forth policies to restrict or ban cellphones in classrooms, according to EdWeek.

"We need a relentless, intentional focus on what our young people need: greater literacy, numeracy and civic engagement, and active learning that excites and engages them-all while ensuring their social and mental well-being and ability to form healthy relationships. Devices down, eyes up, hands-on."