California has enacted a new law that will prohibit the use of artificial intelligence as instructors for K-12 students in public schools, beginning in 2027. The legislation clarifies that all staff and contractors hired by public schools must be "natural people."
Assembly Bill 2148, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last month, permits AI to function as a supplemental learning tool, similar to existing tutoring software. However, the law stipulates that the primary individual responsible for instruction and student support must be a human employee or contractor.
The initial proposal aimed for a complete ban on AI and educational technology in public schools. Lawmakers later revised the bill to focus specifically on ensuring that only humans can be legally hired to educate and support California's K-12 public school students.
Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, the bill's author, stated that the law acknowledges the crucial role of human connection in education. He cited the "dramatic rise" of AI and its uncertain impact on the future of education as the impetus for the legislation. Muratsuchi emphasized the importance of recognizing in law that "as long as our children are human beings, that we need to have teachers, educators being human beings, and to continue to recognize that... the importance of that human connection."
The new law arrives as AI-driven educational initiatives are expanding in California, including plans for a private AI school in Santa Monica scheduled to open next month. The legislation aims to define educators as human beings in recognition of the evolving technological landscape in education.