Florida State Board of Education AI rules, K-12 and state colleges (2026)

FLORIDA — TWO ADMINISTRATIVE RULE SETS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE approved UNANIMOUSLY by the STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION at its meeting of WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2026: one governing K-12 SCHOOLS, one governing THE FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE SYSTEM. THIS IS AGENCY RULEMAKING BY THE STATE BOARD, NOT LEGISLATION — the instrument is a State Board rule (Fla. Admin. Code, adopted under the Board's Art. IX, § 2 and ch. 1001 authority), which matters because rules are amendable by the Board without legislative action and are subject to ch. 120 rule challenges. K-12 RULE, OPERATIVE REQUIREMENTS AS REPORTED: (1) SCHOOL DISTRICTS ACROSS THE STATE MUST DEVELOP LOCAL POLICIES governing WHICH AI TOOLS MAY BE USED AND HOW THEY MAY BE USED — a delegation-with-mandate structure, the state requiring a policy rather than prescribing its content; (2) PARENTS MUST BE NOTIFIED WHEN CERTAIN AI INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS ARE APPROVED; (3) PARENTS MUST GIVE PERMISSION BEFORE THEIR CHILD DIRECTLY INTERACTS WITH THOSE TOOLS. REQUIREMENT (3) IS THE SUBSTANTIVE PROTECTION AND IS AN OPT-IN CONSENT GATE, not notice-only — materially stronger than the disclosure-and-guidance posture of most state education AI frameworks and of the district-level policies indexed here (Brevard Public Schools FL AI policy 7540.08 (2026), Wakulla County FL schools AI policy (2026), Board Policy 2130 (Emerging Technologies) and HCPS Artificial…, BCPS AI Task Force resources and districtwide AI (Microsoft Copilot)…, Board directive to develop comprehensive AI use guidelines (tiered…). THE STATE COLLEGE RULE'S CONTENTS ARE NOT DESCRIBED IN THE SOURCE beyond its existence and the shared non-ban posture. EXPRESS NON-PROHIBITION POSTURE: HENRY MACK (Florida Department of Education) stated the rules 'don't ban the use of artificial intelligence within the classroom at the K-12 level, but also the colleges,' and 'We've never banned access to computers in the classroom, we've never banned access to the internet, and likewise we'll never ban access to AI. It's about using it prudently and effectively.' DISSENT/CAUTION ON THE RECORD: State Board member LAYLA COLLINS raised concerns about student over-reliance — 'It should not replace learning good practices' — with Mack agreeing the goal is to COMPLEMENT rather than REPLACE learning. STAKEHOLDER RESPONSE: CAROL GAURONSKAS, vice president of the FLORIDA EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, is 'pleased with the policies overall' but flagged implementation: 'Will it just be more work on the district to provide what the State Board of Ed needs, or will it be something that is smoothly implemented?' EXISTING DEPLOYMENT: Hillsborough County teachers use the MAGICSCHOOL AI platform. RULE NUMBERS, EFFECTIVE DATES, COMPLIANCE DEADLINES FOR DISTRICT POLICY ADOPTION, AND ENFORCEMENT MECHANISM ARE ALL UNOBTAINED.