Policy documents and bill actions

Detail checked 2026-10-12T09:21:44.661162+00:00.

• 2026-09-25: Referred to Education
• 2026-10-06: Reported as amended
• 2026-10-06: First consideration
• 2026-10-06: Laid on the table

• 2026-09-25 Introduced: Official bill text
• 2026-10-06 Amended: Official bill text

Observed 2026-10-12T09:21:56.139046+00:00.

PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 3929 PRINTER'S NO. 4006
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 2786
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY DUKES, GIRAL, PIELLI, SANCHEZ, NEILSON, SCHWEYER,
RIVERA, HADDOCK, D. WILLIAMS, INGLIS AND CEPEDA-FREYTIZ,
SEPTEMBER 25, 2026
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, OCTOBER 6, 2026
AN ACT
Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
act relating to the public school system, including certain
provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
schools; amending, revising, consolidating, and changing the
laws relating thereto," in student supports, providing for
artificial intelligence policy.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding a
section to read:
Section 1303.3-A. Artificial Intelligence Policy.--(a) No
later than the beginning of the 2027-2028 school year, the
governing body of each school entity and nonpublic school shall
adopt a policy related to the use of artificial intelligence
technology, programs and platforms. The governing body of each
school entity and nonpublic school shall seek input from
instructional staff during the development of the policy. The
policy shall, at a minimum:
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(1) Establish and define the appropriate and prohibited use
of generative artificial intelligence for instructional,
administrative and communication purposes in accordance with
subsection (c).
(2) Ensure ethical use, which shall include data entry
restrictions and vendor contractual safeguards in accordance
with subsection (e), as well as privacy and legal compliance
with the following:
(i) The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
(Public Law 90-247, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g).
(ii) The Children's Internet Protection Act of 2000 (Public
Law 160-554, 114 Stat. 2763A-335).
(iii) The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (Public
Law 105-277, Div. C, Title XIII).
(3) Include academic integrity, which shall include
plagiarism, disclosure, citation and artificial intelligence
detection software.
(4) Include consequences for students and employes for
inappropriate use of artificial intelligence or violations of a
school entity or nonpublic school's policy.
(b) Each school entity or nonpublic school may provide
instructional employes with training on artificial intelligence
literacy, including how to use artificial intelligence, how
artificial intelligence systems work and instruction on the
ethical use of artificial intelligence.
(c) The policy shall affirm that the school entity or
nonpublic school will engage in ethical use of artificial
intelligence, including:
(1) A prohibition on the use of generative artificial
intelligence in making final decisions regarding employe
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recruitment, hiring, retention, promotion, transfer, evaluation,
demotion or dismissal.
(2) A statement that an authorized human employe of the
school entity shall make any final decision or recommendation to
the governing body of the school entity concerning employe
recruitment, hiring, retention, promotion, transfer, evaluation,
demotion or dismissal, regardless of any recommendation
generated by artificial intelligence.
(3) A prohibition on the use of generative artificial
intelligence to make final determinations on graduation,
promotion, grading, discipline, placement and retention.
(4) A prohibition on the use of generative artificial
intelligence to make final determinations on IEP development,
program and placement decision-making, evaluations, reviews and
revisions.
(5) The inclusion of enforceable vendor contractual
safeguards protecting student data privacy and security, breach
notification requirements, data deletion upon contract
termination and vendor accountability for unauthorized use of
student data.
(6) A statement ensuring that student and employe personal
identifiable information is not collected, disclosed or retained
by artificial intelligence technology, programs or platforms.
(7) A statement identifying employes of the school entity or
nonpublic school responsible for evaluating, approving and
overseeing the use of artificial intelligence technology,
programs and platforms.
(d) Each school entity or nonpublic school shall make the
policy adopted under this section available on the school's
publicly accessible Internet website , if available .
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(e) Each school entity or nonpublic school shall review the
school's policy on artificial intelligence NO LESS THAN every
two (2) years and provide an updated copy of the policy to the
Department of Education if the policy is revised DISCUSS THE
SCHOOL'S ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE POLICY AT A PUBLIC MEETING . If
a school entity or nonpublic school has an existing artificial
intelligence policy on the effective date of this subsection,
the governing body of the school entity or nonpublic school
shall update the existing policy to ensure compliance with this
section.
(f) Within ninety (90) days of the effective date of this
subsection, the Department of Education shall develop guidelines
to assist school entities and nonpublic schools in implementing
the requirements in this section. The guidelines shall:
(1) Be posted on the department's publicly accessible
Internet website.
(2) Be revised regularly to remain current with national
standards.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede
or preempt the rights, remedies and procedures afforded to
school employes or labor organizations under Federal or State
law, including the act of July 23, 1970 (P.L.563, No.195), known
as the Public Employe Relations Act, or any provision of a
collective bargaining agreement negotiated between a school
employer and an exclusive representative of the employes in
accordance with the Public Employe Relations Act.
(h) As used in this section, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection unless
the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Artificial intelligence."
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(1) A machine-based system that can, for a given set of
human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations or
decisions influencing real or virtual environments, including
the ability to:
(i) perceive real and virtual environments;
(ii) abstract perceptions made under this paragraph into
artificial intelligence models through analysis in an automated
manner; or
(iii) use model inference to formulate options for
information or action based on outcomes under subparagraphs (i)
and (ii).
(2) The term includes generative artificial intelligence.
"Artificial intelligence literacy." The ability to
understand, use and think critically about artificial
intelligence. The term shall include knowing how artificial
intelligence tools work, using artificial intelligence tools
responsibly and creatively and recognizing the strengths, limits
and ethical impacts of artificial intelligence tools.
"Ethical use." The responsible integration of artificial
intelligence tools in ways that prioritize student and staff
welfare, equity, transparency and human judgment while
protecting privacy and upholding professional standards.
"Generative artificial intelligence." The class of
artificial intelligence models that emulate the structure and
characteristics of input data in order to generate synthetic
content.
"IEP." An individ…