Delaware weighs classroom AI safeguards

Delaware’s classroom AI guidance remains voluntary, with no binding statewide rules governing when students may directly use generative AI. The Delaware Council on Educational Technology issued guidance through DDOE in 2024 and subsequently added classroom-management, acceptable-use and media-literacy resources. Proposed statewide safeguards would prioritize durable learning over faster task completion.

Research highlights the difference between AI-assisted performance and independent understanding. A peer-reviewed study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences involving nearly 1,000 high school math students found that students using unrestricted GPT-4 performed 48% better with AI available but 17% worse when working independently. A version with guardrails reduced that decline. AI can provide immediate feedback, personalize instruction and ease teacher workloads, but those benefits do not necessarily translate into stronger learning.

Recommended protections include requiring evidence of educational effectiveness before widespread adoption, ensuring students practice foundational thinking independently, and using oral explanations, in-class writing and rough drafts to assess understanding. AI literacy, teacher control and limits on student-data collection are also priorities. Delaware’s Student Data Privacy Protection Act excludes general-audience services, potentially leaving gaps for general-purpose AI tools. A proposed AI and extended-reality school pilot passed the House but did not advance in the Senate before adjournment.