FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Oct. 7, 2026
Contact: Ashwin Verghese, Communications Director, [email protected], 508-263-0289
Student-First AI Policy Offers Model for Districts Nationwide as Evidence Mounts of AI Harms
BOSTON — As a growing body of research links student AI use to weaker learning, the children’s advocacy group Fairplay and its research partners today released the Student-First AI Policy, a model policy that protects students by providing strict criteria to review and evaluate the use of AI products in school.
The full Student-First AI Policy is available at StudentFirstAIPolicy.com.
The policy is the follow-up to Fairplay’s model moratorium on generative AI products in school, a proposed five-year pause that accompanied an open letter signed by more than 250 organizations and experts. Bans and moratoriums give districts time to slow down and make informed decisions about whether AI should be used in schools.
The Student-First AI Policy is the long-term next step. It provides a vetting process for any AI tool a district considers putting in front of students. The policy is written as a starting point that school board members, superintendents, parents, educators, and students can adapt for their own districts, so decisions rest on independent evidence rather than vendors’ marketing claims.
“Districts shouldn’t have to take a company’s word that its product is safe for kids,” said Brendan Bouffard, associate general counsel for AI and privacy at Fairplay and a co-author of the policy. “This policy gives school leaders the questions to ask and the evidence to demand before any AI tool reaches a student, from how it handles student data to whether it’s designed to keep kids hooked. If a product can’t clear that bar, it doesn’t belong in the classroom.”
“Too many schools have handed students AI products out of fear of missing out, without any evidence they help kids learn and growing evidence they cause serious harm,” said Shaleen Title, director of the Parabola Center for Law and Policy and co-author of both policies. “But we’ve seen again and again that when parents, teachers, and students speak up, school officials listen. This policy gives them something concrete to bring to their school board. It is a ready-to-adopt framework that any district, large or small, can put in place without writing its own rules from scratch. While these standards to evaluate AI tools are high, they are necessary and appropriate to protect our children.”
The policy’s vetting process requires independent evidence that an AI product meets rigorous standards in three areas:
- Evidence from independent research that the product improves learning outcomes better than existing methods.
- Strong protection of student privacy with a design free of addictive features.
- Demonstration that the product will not perpetuate discrimination or existing inequities.
“This model policy protects students and teacher-led, high-quality instruction. It also reflects the priorities of parents who believe in public education,” said Matthew Bach, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association.
The policy was co-authored by Shaleen Title, director of the Parabola Center for Law and Policy and Of Counsel at Rudick Law Group; Brendan Bouffard, associate general counsel for AI and privacy at Fairplay; and Joan Donovan, PhD, co-director of the Critical Internet Studies Institute and assistant professor of journalism and emerging media studies at Boston University.
It was developed in consultation with ACLU of Massachusetts, American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts, Design It For Us, Distraction-Free Schools, Fight for the Future, Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance, Massachusetts Teachers Association, Rudick Law Group, Schools Beyond Screens, Sociedad Latina, Turning Life On, and Dr. Faith English of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
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About Fairplay
Fairplay is the leading nonprofit committed to helping children thrive in an increasingly commercialized, screen-obsessed culture, and the only organization dedicated to ending marketing to children. Fairplay works to enhance children’s well-being by eliminating the exploitative and harmful business practices of marketers and Big Tech. Learn more at www.fairplayforkids.org.
About Rudick Law Group
Rudick Law Group is a woman-led law firm serving clients in emerging industries. With roots in New York and New Jersey and a global presence, the firm advises companies in AI, cybersecurity, cannabis, psychedelics, and other new markets. Rudick Law Group pairs legal guidance with strategic consulting to help clients stay compliant and grow sustainably. Learn more at rudicklawgroup.com.