Teach Plus Illinois and the Illinois Digital Educators Alliance (IDEA) released a new report titled “From ‘Rules and Tools’ to Schools” on May 14, 2026, offering a roadmap for integrating artificial intelligence into K-12 classrooms. This report serves as a follow-up to a 2024 study on AI in education and aligns with the momentum of Illinois Senate Bill 1920, which mandates that the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) issue statewide AI guidance by summer 2026.

The findings, drawn from a statewide survey of 15 educational organizations, indicate that 58 percent of Illinois educators use AI for lesson planning, while nearly half employ it for personalized instruction. Despite this usage, access to professional development remains inconsistent, with one in four educators reporting no AI training at all. The report emphasizes that while teachers identify benefits for multilingual learners and students with disabilities, AI must function as a tool to support, not replace, human judgment and teacher-student relationships.

To address these challenges, the authors offer four primary recommendations for the ISBE. First, the state should provide concrete examples of both best practices and inappropriate AI use to guide classroom implementation. Second, school districts should leverage teacher leaders to translate statewide guidance into daily practice. Third, the report calls for a statewide framework for vetting AI tools, ensuring that all schools can select products based on instructional value, equity, and student privacy. Finally, state guidance must explicitly state that AI should not substitute for human mentorship.

Bill Curtin, Policy Director at Teach Plus Illinois, noted that state policy must remain as adaptive as the underlying technology to ensure effective integration. Educators such as Kelly Torres, a Bensenville history teacher and report author, reiterated that AI implementation requires protecting student thinking and academic integrity. This roadmap aims to ensure Illinois maintains a human-centered approach to AI that prioritizes student engagement and future-ready learning.

Teach Plus Illinois and the Illinois Digital Educators Alliance (IDEA) released a new report titled “From ‘Rules and Tools’ to Schools” on May 14, 2026, offering a roadmap for integrating artificial intelligence into K-12 classrooms. This report serves as a follow-up to a 2024 study on AI in education and aligns with the momentum of Illinois Senate Bill 1920, which mandates that the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) issue statewide AI guidance by summer 2026.

The findings, drawn from a statewide survey of 15 educational organizations, indicate that 58 percent of Illinois educators use AI for lesson planning, while nearly half employ it for personalized instruction. Despite this usage, access to professional development remains inconsistent, with one in four educators reporting no AI training at all. The report emphasizes that while teachers identify benefits for multilingual learners and students with disabilities, AI must function as a tool to support, not replace, human judgment and teacher-student relationships.

To address these challenges, the authors offer four primary recommendations for the ISBE. First, the state should provide concrete examples of both best practices and inappropriate AI use to guide classroom implementation. Second, school districts should leverage teacher leaders to translate statewide guidance into daily practice. Third, the report calls for a statewide framework for vetting AI tools, ensuring that all schools can select products based on instructional value, equity, and student privacy. Finally, state guidance must explicitly state that AI should not substitute for human mentorship.

Bill Curtin, Policy Director at Teach Plus Illinois, noted that state policy must remain as adaptive as the underlying technology to ensure effective integration. Educators such as Kelly Torres, a Bensenville history teacher and report author, reiterated that AI implementation requires protecting student thinking and academic integrity. This roadmap aims to ensure Illinois maintains a human-centered approach to AI that prioritizes student engagement and future-ready learning.