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Student Senate STUDENT FIRST Act

Inaugural Student Senate · Edward M. Kennedy Institute · July 2026

Student senate group
50 States Represented
5 Policy Sections
4 Subcommittees
29 State Stories

119th Congress · 2nd Session

S.2026

The STUDENT FIRST Act

Safe Technology Use, Data Privacy, and Ethical Norms for Teaching—Fostering Integrity and Responsible Systems in Teaching (STUDENT FIRST) Act of 2026

Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate July 2026 Adopted by Student Senate

The "Safe Technology Use, Data Privacy, and Ethical Norms for Teaching—Fostering Integrity and Responsible Systems in Teaching (STUDENT FIRST) Act of 2026" is hereby introduced for the inaugural 2026 Student Senate convening on artificial intelligence policy, to establish rights, protections, and responsibilities for students, parents, teachers, and administrators with respect to the use of artificial intelligence in education, and for other purposes.

Special Subcommittees

STUDENT

Students' Technology Use, Data Privacy, and Educational Network Transparency

PARENT

Parents' Access, Rights, and Education on New Technology in Schools

TEACHERS

Teachers' Ethical Adoption of Classroom AI, Human Oversight, Evaluation, Rights, and Support

ADMIN

Administrators' Data, Management, Implementation, and Networks

  1. Any organizations that offer generative AI powered services to public educational facilities must address all known biases within their generative AI, and must inform their clients of the biases that their products represent. The public educational facility must then provide this information to the parents and guardians of their students.
  2. Educators should always prioritize educator-student relationships by omitting AI usage in situations where human connection is irreplaceable in the learning environment.
  3. Nothing in this act shall infringe upon the professional judgment of teachers in managing their specific classroom environments.
  4. Nothing in this act shall penalize a teacher or administrator for opting not to use AI tools in their personal instructional or administrative practice, provided they meet all other curriculum standards.
  5. Nothing in this act shall preempt federal or state laws regarding student privacy and data protection.

  1. Students should have the right to appeal any convictions of wrongful AI use. They may be subject to technologies such as AI detectors. Students should prepare their documents to defend against potential false positives, such as procuring the document history of major assignments. Students who are suspected of using AI should be guaranteed a thorough examination of their work by two school officials, as well as an AI checker software.
  2. States shall require schools to provide AI literacy instruction when students start using devices in the classroom, and can continue each year as the district sees fit. AI education should include topics such as misinformation, plagiarism, bias in AI systems, privacy concerns, appropriate academic use, environmental impacts, and how AI functions.
  3. Schools should allow AI-based learning supports to be included in IEP or 504 accommodation plans when appropriate.
  4. Students should never use AI for the act of writing, though editing, brainstorming, and studying with AI is permitted after eighth grade. How to edit written assignments (without AI assistance) should be taught and assessed thoroughly prior to eighth grade before students use AI for editing.
  5. Students are restricted from creating AI images, videos, audio recordings, or messages to bully, harass, libel, or falsely accuse other students, teachers, faculty, or school community members. Violators of this rule can be subjected to suspension or expulsion as deemed fit by the school administration. Violators may also face legal consequences and will not be protected by the school administration.
  6. Students must have permission from a teacher to use AI to assist in an assignment. If a student uses AI, they must cite how and where they used it or else it will be considered plagiarism. If they are not explicitly told that AI use is permitted, any use of AI will be considered unauthorized and plagiarism.
  7. High school students can refuse to use AI tools in the classroom. An alternative assignment must be given to the student.
  8. Students are prohibited from inputting assignments directly into AI platforms.
  9. AI use is strictly prohibited on all graded assessments. If a teacher catches a student using it for that purpose, the grade on that assignment must result in a zero unless the teacher specifies otherwise. AI use is permitted for studying.
  10. Students should not be able to use AI in a plagiarizing format on formative or summative assignments. If found, whatever choice of punishment should be made by the teacher, with permission from the principal.
  11. Students must independently fact-check all AI generated claims before submitting.
  12. Verification of Mastery: Students must be prepared to demonstrate independent mastery of learning objectives through in-person discussions, handwritten assessments, or oral defenses if AI was utilized during the drafting phase.
  13. Students may not use AI to complete artistic assignments.
  14. Students must be informed of any and all data collection from them, as well as what their data would be used for, and have the right to deny unnecessary data collection. Schools are strictly prohibited from using AI tools to profile or categorize students based on their ethnicity, religion, appearance, beliefs, or values.
  15. Students must have access to at least one school approved, filtered, and monitored AI mode.

  1. Parents should encourage balanced technology habits and reinforce ethical academic behavior at home. Parents should support critical thinking over taking shortcuts.
  2. Parents should be encouraged to learn AI literacy, which shall be used to monitor the effective use of artificial intelligence by their children when it comes to the use of AI at home to assist in schoolwork, studying, or other education-based activities.
  3. Parents or guardians shall be informed about how AI is being incorporated into the school's curriculum and shall have the opportunity to provide feedback on how its use can be improved.
  4. Annually, families should be informed of the potential usage of AI that may ensue in the following school year. Parents / legal guardians should sign off on said use prior to the year beginning. Parents and guardians may request clarification about AI-related classroom rules, and schools should provide a timely response.
  5. Parents must be aware and sign a written form on punishments caused by breaking of set rules around AI and allow for a period of public comment before going into effect.
  6. Parents/guardians can request information from the teacher about the AI policy. It is up to the parent to set the rules for the student's approach to AI at home, however it is advised to follow the school's policy if there is one.
  7. Parents and guardians have discretion to use AI as they see fit to educate their child at home or assist their child with non-graded work. Parents and guardians may only use AI to assist on graded work, such as class assignments or projects, when the classroom teacher has explicitly allowed AI assistance on said graded work. If parents use AI to assist their child on graded work when explicit permission is not given by their classroom teacher, students will be subject to suspension or expulsion at their schools discretion.
  8. Parents are required to review school AI guidelines to ensure they are informed and can enforce appropriate boundaries on usage at home.
  9. Parents and guardians have a right to request an explanation on any classroom rules regulating student AI use from their teacher. The teacher must respond within one week, clearly explaining any classroom rules around artificial intelligence.
  10. School-purchased/licensed AI software, specifically chatbots/LLMs, must be able to detect when students attempt to use them for emotional support or life advice. When detected, this software should take action, which may include alerting school officials (including but not limited to: principals, assistant principals, secretaries, counselors, and school resource officers, if available). In such instances, machines cannot fulfill students' requests.

  1. Teachers cannot solely rely on AI to determine grades, improper student conduct, or other choices concerning a student's education.
  2. Teachers must use one standardized AI detector in conjunction with their school district for written graded assessments and use Lockdown browsers for graded online assessments. If AI detects any misconduct, teachers must personally investigate the issue before reporting the student to admin for improper use.
  3. Teachers must outline a clear, written AI usage policy in their course syllabus at the start of each semester, explicitly stating when AI is permitted, restricted, or banned for specific assignments. The AI rules should be consistent across different classes in the same course or subject varying by school size. There should be category based rules (essay, worksheet, test).
  4. Just as students are expected to be transparent in their AI usage, teachers should be held to the same standard. Teachers may use artificial intelligence to support lesson planning, create practice materials, provide feedback, organize classroom resources, and improve instruction, but AI should not replace a teacher's professional judgement or relationship with students. Furthermore, teachers must review AI-generated materials for accuracy, bias, and appropriateness before using them in class.
  5. Teacher autonomy: Teachers maintain the right to choose whether to use AI as a drafting tool for internal classroom assessments. If AI is used to assist in test creation, the teacher is responsible for verifying all content for accuracy, bias, and alignment with curriculum standards.
  6. VIVA VOCE (Oral Defense): Teachers reserve the right to require an oral defense of any paper or project where AI use is suspected or reported, to ensure the student possesses the knowledge displayed in the work.
  7. Teachers have a right to discipline a student that was using AI to complete or assist with their assignment depending on guidelines. However, in some instances, matters of discipline should be referred to school administrators. Every public school district must draft clear guidelines for their schools regarding which infractions fall within the jurisdiction of teacher discipline or administrator discipline. Guidelines should address grade weightage, offense level, and school size.
  8. Teachers are encouraged to teach AI literacy to students. When teachers craft IEP/504 plans for students with disabilities, they are prohibited from entering sensitive, identifiable student information into an AI tool.
  9. Teachers assigning digital work must complete a state-provided AI literacy training course every two years. The course would educate teachers on responsible AI use, academic integrity, student privacy, accessibility tools, and recognizing AI-generated work.

  1. Administrators should require that school counselors do not utilize AI tools, particularly in mental health contexts, and that students should receive face to face help and engage in discussion rather than work with AI tools to receive help.
  2. Administration must review AI policy every year to ensure that practices meet district values and goals.
  3. Administrators must create a clear rule set for the usage of AI in schools. These rules must be published on the school official website, or rule book as well as the repercussions for breaking said rules.
  4. Administrators must establish clear guidelines for AI use for both teachers and students, as well as consequences for misuse.
  5. Administrators must provide mandated bi-annual AI literacy training for teachers, covering professional usage as well as responsible and safe integration into curriculum.
  6. Any disciplinary action taken regarding AI misuse must include an appeal process.
  7. Administrators are not allowed to use AI in the disciplinary process except for the occasion where it is used to reveal academic dishonesty (e.g. AI checking software). An administrator must have at least one party in addition to the administrator to aid in decision making relating to use of AI.
  8. Administrators can take away the privilege of the students using AI.
  9. Repeat Violations: If a student is found to repeatedly misuse AI tools or intentionally break established rules after an initial warning, they shall be subject to progressive discipline, which may include mandatory parent-teacher-administrator conferences; requirement to redo the assignment in a strictly monitored, non-digital environment; loss of credit for the assignment or course; or academic probation or other disciplinary actions as defined by the school's code of conduct.
  10. Administrators may not enter any student's or teacher's personal information into AI tools.
  11. Administrators must consult with students, staff, and families before drafting AI rules. Administration must establish a committee to monitor AI use, collect feedback, and make continuous improvements. Administrators must publish their guidelines at least two weeks prior to the beginning of the school year.
  12. Administrators must establish AI usage opt-out procedures at least two weeks prior to the beginning of the school year. If parents or guardians wish to enact such procedures for their child before the school year starts, administrators must respond within one week to schedule an appointment to discuss available opt-out procedures or specific worries.
  13. Administrators are not allowed to use AI to employ teachers or faculty.
  14. Proportional federal funding (with a baseline minimum) should be issued to states for district level AI considerations. This includes, but is not limited to, specialized enterprise AI (designed for safe usage and data privacy), mandatory training for employees, and a variety of AI literacy options for students.

Student Senate · July 2026

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