Across the country, the approach schools take towards Generative AI has changed: it’s moved from usage bans to pockets of experimentation to a broader conversation about how schools can and should use AI to enhance teaching, learning, and operations.
CRPE has been tracking these developments on multiple fronts, via district surveys, interviews, studies of teacher pilot programs, and a study of Early Adopter school districts, where we collect and analyze publicly available data on AI initiatives led by public school districts and public charter management organizations.
Last year, we published a database of 40 Early Adopter school districts for the 2024-25 school year and provided an analysis of the trends. Our research captured a moment when a handful of districts were exploring AI’s potential, but systemic work remained nascent and largely uncoordinated.
To continue tracking how districts are advancing or adjusting their AI strategies, CRPE recently released an updated database for the 2025-26 school year.
We’ve seen some notable shifts since last year. More districts are now publicly articulating AI strategies, and these strategies are more sophisticated and varied. Beyond the initial pilots and exploration phases, some districts are beginning to align their AI efforts with broader visions for teaching and learning. While there are still only a few “reimaginers” that are rethinking instruction or tackling longstanding challenges, the number of Early Adopters (especially in urban areas) is growing.
As we did last year, CRPE will be conducting surveys and interviews with these districts to document their learnings. Based on last year’s analysis as well as other CRPE research, we urge this growing cadre of Early Adopters districts to focus on coherent, systemwide approaches to AI and greater support for students as they navigate both the risks and opportunities of this technology. It is crucial for policymakers, funders, and others to watch this rapidly changing landscape.
More Early Adopters Are Piloting Systemwide AI Strategies
Our Early Adopters database has nearly doubled in a year, from 40 to 79 districts. These districts provide publicly available information on multi-prong strategies like AI guidance and growing AI literacy, tool use, and coursework across their schools. We saw the most growth in terms of districts’ professional development offerings for teachers, up to 86% this year from 63% last year. More of this year’s Early Adopters provide guidance than last year’s did (78% versus 65%), and more provide teacher tool support (77% this year versus 70% last year) and student tool support (63% this year versus 58% last year).
Figure 1: Typology of District Early Adopter AI Strategies, 2025-26
Districts also provide more robust information on a broader range of strategies for 2025-26, and we’re seeing a shift in the complexity of their efforts. Last year, many districts implemented only a few AI initiatives, such as tool pilots or guidance, but this year, we see more than a third (37%) implementing five or more strategies. This indicates these districts’ potential to adopt more integrated, rather than ad hoc, AI strategies across their schools.
Table 1: AI Strategies Reported, by Number of Districts
| Category | SY 23-24 | SY 23-24 % | SY 24-25 | SY 24-25 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two Strategies | 6 | 15% | 9 | 12% |
| Three or Four Strategies | 28 | 70% | 40 | 51% |
| Five or More Strategies | 6 | 15% | 29 | 37% |
Several large, urban districts that were silent on AI last fall are now sharing details about their strategic approaches. Denver Public Schools in Colorado recently published a Handbook on AI in Schools, a living document that includes an AI continuous-learning framework and guidance. The district’s AI vision moves beyond tool use, naming AI’s potential to improve data-driven decision-making, real-time coaching, and personalized learning, and it outlines ways AI can support students and staff with disabilities and/or multilingual learners. The district surveyed students and staff on AI preferences and usage to develop its handbook.
Similarly, Charlotte-Meckenberg Schools (CMS) in North Carolina conducted a community-wide survey on AI, created an AI steering committee for decision-making, and released its AI Vision and 2025-26 Generative AI Guidance in spring 2025. The district’s approach diverges from Denver’s, however. CMS will continue a districtwide ban on most AI tools, including ChatGPT, in classrooms and on teachers’ devices. They will provide training on and access only to specific, targeted AI tools they approve. They have also designated 30 “AI Champion Schools” to explore AI and share learnings with other campuses.
Early Adopters Focus More on Students, Mostly with New Tools
Last year, we found that Early Adopter pilots and strategies tended to focus on teacher needs. Since then, more districts have embraced students’ inevitable engagement with AI and now provide more student-centered guidance, tools, literacy efforts, and exploratory strategies.
Two-thirds (63%) of districts report using student-centered tools. Several are using tools created by, or customized for, their students.
- Students at San Ramon Unified School District created an AI-powered study platform called Vertex that uses personalized materials tailored to specific classes and difficulty levels.
- Bullitt County Public Schools students developed an AI assistant platform in their Java Programming I course to answer questions on topics ranging from homework to current events. The school aligned this project to competencies outlined in its Graduate Profile. BCPS students also helped design a districtwide anti-bullying counseling tool.
- Altus Schools, a network of public charter schools in San Diego that offers credit recovery via a blended learning curriculum, flexible scheduling, and year-round schooling, is rolling out an AI-enabled “instructional aide” that supports small-group teaching by delivering standards-aligned lessons.
Only a quarter (27%) share information about AI courses, and just six districts (8%) communicate any adjustments to learning standards.
- Iowa City School District announced it would be implementing a new curriculum on teaching students how to use AI, with age-appropriate lessons required by the school board. The district also stated it would offer quarter-long electives on AI for 7th- and 8th-graders.
- Fresno Unified School District revised its Student Technology Scope and Sequence to include AI competencies and skills and remain aligned to Common Core State Standards.
- Gwinnett County School District, which designed an AI learning framework, K-12 AI learning continuum, and an AI-themed high school two years ago, now plans to expand its AI learning framework districtwide.
At least two districts (Agua Fria School District and Portland Public Schools) are adjusting their Portrait of a Graduate profiles to incorporate AI-inclusive language, but have not communicated how these changes might affect coursework or learning standards.
While more districts are bringing AI to students, most are not systematically engaging students in shaping AI strategy. A few exceptions stand out.
- The superintendent at Fox Chapel Area School District conducted two rounds of interviews with students, which surfaced a gap in student use and adult assumptions. The district plans to use this new perspective to shape its future AI strategy and use.
- Mountain View School District asked students to help shape its AI policies. Select high school students serve as “tech interns” who facilitate dialogue about how AI can be helpful or harmful. The interns also created an AI chatbot that writes draft AI policies for school districts.
Reimaginers keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with AI
Last year, we identified a small cohort of “reimaginers.” These districts center AI strategies in broader plans for change: fundamentally rethinking student learning experiences, teacher roles, or instructional delivery models. A few Early Adopters are diving deeper in 2025-26, piloting AI to transform schools or the student learning experience entirely.
In Fall 2025, ASU Prep opened a new hybrid high school in collaboration with the Levitt Lab. This school leverages a mastery-focused, project-based learning model that blends personalized learning with in-depth “wonder sessions” modeled on the Socratic seminar, as well as curriculum from the Kahn World School.
Bullitt County Public Schools is piloting a suite of custom-made, AI-enabled coaching tools to help teachers and school staff transition to competency-based learning. Developed in partnership with Incubate Learning and built with Playlab.ai, some provide 1:1 coaching support for teachers, instructional coaches, school leaders, and central office teams. Others help educators and leaders design authentic learning experiences and reflect on practice.
Peninsula School District in Washington State has created a secure platform that allows staff and students to access frontier models (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) trained on Peninsula and Washington State guidelines, frameworks, and learning standards. This platform also processes data through the district’s secure servers, removing student or staff identifiers—and operates at a fraction of the cost of individual licenses.
Districts must advance more coherent AI strategies for teaching and learning
Last year, CRPE recommended that districts pilot ideas and collect evidence of success, focus AI on longstanding challenges, invest in systemwide AI literacy, and engage students, teachers, and communities alike in AI.
While it’s encouraging to see more districts tackling early adoption, our interviews from last year and other research indicate that AI adoption is fragmented and that both district leaders and teachers are overwhelmed. This year, we urge Early Adopters to keep their focus on systemic transformation, not isolated innovation.
- Run more rapid-cycle pilots. Conduct short-form pilots and collect data on what’s working, recognizing that tools are dynamic and that the market and technology will continue to evolve.
- Run pilots on non-instructional opportunities. Collect and share evidence of where AI might improve efficiency and quality in areas like operations, data systems, and talent management.
- Align AI solutions to your vision of learning and schooling. Embed AI adoption within a coherent vision for teaching and learning that unites academic and technology teams, advances equity, and prepares students for a changing workforce.
- Expand AI literacy from skill-building to grappling with its risks and opportunities. Help leaders, educators, and students understand how AI may or may not advance deeper learning, make school more engaging, protect data, reshape relationships, or support ethical decision-making and practices.
- Keep students in the loop. Rather than restricting access, guide students in using AI responsibly. Engage them in designing AI strategy and solutions.
Our 2025-26 database shows that more schools, teachers, and students are experimenting with AI. It signals AI’s potential to drive districts faster than previous technologies. At the same time, students continue a broken trajectory of post-pandemic recovery, reminding us what is at stake. Without a coherent vision or systemic strategy for learning, districts risk adopting AI in fragmented ways that amplify inequities and yield short-term gains rather than genuine transformation.