Educational institutions are no stranger to the limelight, particularly when it comes to politics and the priorities of state lawmakers. As shown by the following overview of pending bills and legislation, education will continue to be a hot topic for state lawmakers in 2024.

At the top of the list is artificial intelligence (AI). As covered by a separate article in this edition of The Academic Advisor, members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the Artificial Intelligence Literacy Act of 2023 in December, with the overall goal of AI skill development in schools. Meanwhile, 29 bills have been enacted in 17 states in the last five years regulating AI, according to the Council of State Governments. In the absence of legislation, some states have issued AI guidance for schools, including California, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, and West Virginia, with other states’ AI initiatives in progress.

Other legislation in development includes bills to support teacher recruitment and retention and related labor shortages in Missouri, New York, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Indiana; to address learning loss and reading skills in Indiana, Oklahoma, and Georgia; and to establish tax credit programs for school choice like those available in Ohio.

Certain states within the Spilman footprint have recently introduced the following bills and guidelines:

Florida

• Senate Bill 1344 would add computer science skills to state academic standards for the 2025-26 school year and create an AI in Education Task Force within the Florida Department of Education.
• SB 1044/House Bill (HB) 931 would allow public school districts and public charter schools to have volunteer school chaplains and require parental consent for related student services.
• SB 1472 would require video cameras in certain public school classrooms with special needs’ students and a retention period to allow for investigation of abuse and neglect claims.
• SB 344/HB 1521 would require instruction in the history of African Americans.
• HB 1355 would undo 2023 legislation that restricted the use of preferred pronouns, books in public schools, and discussion about gender identity and sexuality in the classroom.

North Carolina

• The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction recently released guidelines for the use of AI in public schools. (For a detailed review of the North Carolina Generative AI Implementation Recommendations and Considerations for PK-13 Public Schools, please see the following article on point in this edition of The Academic Advisor.)

Virginia

• HB 1088 would require the Virginia Board of Education to aid local school boards with instructional materials on climate change and environmental literacy.

West Virginia

• SB 143 would allow school boards to hire independent contractors for the purpose of armed security on school campuses.
• SB 280 would allow intelligent design to be taught in schools and require the display of the national motto in schools and colleges under certain conditions.
• SB 152 would require educational institutions to display the national motto “In God We Trust” with images of the U.S. and state flag in each classroom in certain instances.
• SB 253 would establish an enrollment floor for county schools for the school aid formula.

As a result of state legislators’ focus on education, schools must continue to be agile and responsive in their development of policies and procedures that address these divergent categories of requirements, if enacted. In particular, unless or until trumped by federal legislation, schools should expect state regulation of their use of AI is coming, if not already established, and work with their technology teams, faculty, and legal experts to address related compliance measures. To the extent your institution needs support, we can connect you with the appropriate legal resource in our Education, Technology, and Government Relations Practice Groups to address these legislative changes.