State board staff outline $500,000 teacher AI training program, policy guidance work

Matt Winters, the board’s AI education specialist, updated the Standards and Assessment Committee on three items: regulatory‑mitigation work with the Office of AI Policy, a $500,000 teacher‑training grant, and internal staff professional development.

Winters said the Department of Commerce Office of AI Policy and board staff collaborated on regulatory mitigation plans to identify places in state law that could interfere with responsible AI rollouts; those plans are being reviewed for incorporation into an updated AI framework and a glossary of terms for local education agencies.

Winters described a $500,000 grant-funded training program that will deliver a three‑layer professional development pathway for teachers: a one‑hour in‑school PD session, an approximately two‑hour Canvas course for community and follow‑up, and a requirement that participating teachers create and submit a lesson plan that either uses student‑facing AI or teaches about AI in the teacher’s content area. Winters said more than 200 sites have been identified and that more than half the grant funds will go directly to teacher stipends. Submitted lesson plans will be collected in a public database and shared broadly when the program completes in the fall.

Winters also said USB is running internal, biweekly AI trainings for staff and is considering a second AI summit. Board members asked to be invited to site visits and to see materials; Winters and staff offered calendars and the option of a board work session on the effort. Winters said the training roster and interest list is growing rapidly and that recordings of internal sessions are available to agency staff.

No committee action was taken; the update was informational.