Illinois State Board of Education issues AI guidance, written with help
from AI
[July 16, 2026]
By Peter Hancock
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Board of Education released new
guidelines recently on how schools should and should not use artificial
intelligence in K-12 education.
One of the most notable aspects of the AI guidelines, however, is that
it was written with help from popular AI programs including ChatGPT,
Claude and Gemini.
Bill Curtin, Illinois policy director for the nonprofit advocacy group
Teach Plus, one of the groups that pushed for the guidance, called that
an example of how AI should be treated in academic fields.
“Upfront, they said, ‘We did use AI,’ and they were very clear and
specific about how they used AI,” Curtin told Capitol News Illinois.
“And that actually builds trust because these days you can look at
almost anything that anyone writes and wonder if it’s AI. It’s much
better when, upfront, you say: ‘We did use AI, and here’s where, and
here’s where the human element is really still seen in this guidance.’”
Growing concerns over AI
The guidance was issued after the General Assembly passed legislation in
2025 requiring ISBE to develop guidelines on using AI in education.
Senate Bill 1920 came amid growing concern about students using AI
programs like ChatGPT to help them with research or even to write
essays.
At the same time, teachers and administrators were also looking for
guidance on constructive ways they could use AI for things like
developing lesson plans or grading students’ work.
A 2024 survey of Illinois educators conducted by Teach Plus and the
Illinois Digital Educator Alliance, or IDEA, found a common concern that
misuse of AI could threaten student learning. Respondents also expressed
concerns that AI systems could endanger student privacy and expose them
to inaccurate or even harmful information.
“Schools are behind,” one educator responding to the survey said.
“Students utilize AI often, and we have nothing in place. It is a bit
like the Wild West right now.”
The legislation directed ISBE to develop guidance that would include,
among other things, “specific ways artificial intelligence can be used
at the district, school and classroom levels to inform teaching and
learning practices.”
It also called for guidance on “best practices for developing student
literacy in artificial intelligence and engaging students in
age-appropriate discussions on the responsible and ethical use of
artificial intelligence.”
ISBE guidance
That guidance was released on July 9. The 409-page document was
developed with input from a blue-ribbon panel of experts in education,
technology and public policy. But it also includes a note saying,
“Initial drafts for this guidance used AI (ChatGPT primarily but, to a
lesser extent, Claude and Gemini).”
It goes on to say that after initial language was crafted, the authors
used AI prompts to find links and verification that outside resources
were publicly verifiable and available.
The note also says AI was used to generate and edit graphic figures used
in the document. And it says AI was used to polish the text by asking
questions such as “what might be missing from this section,” or “what
would be clearer in this section.”
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The Illinois State Board of Education has released a 409-page
document offering guidance to schools and districts about the use of
artificial intelligence in K-12 education. (Capitol News Illinois
photo by Peter Hancock)
And in places where AI was used to generate information, the note says
that information was vetted outside of AI.
The guidance itself, however, emphasizes that teaching and learning are
shaped by human relationships and experiences, and that artificial
intelligence is only a tool to inform teaching and learning, not a
substitute for human interaction.
“Our responsibility is to help schools navigate new technologies in a
way that strengthens instruction, protects students, and builds trust
for informed AI use between districts and the families and communities
they serve,” State Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders said in a
statement.
The document itself is dense with academic and education-related
language. And while it does not lay out rules or mandates about how
schools and districts should use AI, it does offer some practical advice
for teachers and other professionals who are considering using AI in the
classroom or in school operations.
For example, one section on selecting AI applications offers a list of
questions teachers might ask before choosing an AI product such as “What
is the learning problem I’m solving — and is AI the right tool for that
problem?” And, “If AI were unavailable tomorrow, what would I do instead
— and is that actually better for the learning goal?”
But when it comes to preventing students from using AI as a tool to
cheat, Curtin said that’s an issue teachers have confronted since the
advent of pocket calculators and personal computers.
“Students have always found ways to cheat, and teachers have always
responded,” he said. “That’s a practice-level issue. They’re going to,
given enough time to catch up and learn AI, find ways to adapt in the
classroom to make sure that students are still learning. That’s a
practice issue, not a policy one.”
“A policy issue,” he continued, “is putting together the framework by
which teachers can develop the skills and ethics and mindsets in
students where they can really be successful and use it ethically.”
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick
Foundation.
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