MSDE releases K–12 AI guidance and planning tools for districts
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Summary
Maryland State Department of Education staff unveiled a statewide AI guidance framework, an LEA planning guide, teacher resource guidance, and evaluation rubrics instructing districts on procurement, privacy and classroom use; MSDE emphasized flexible guidance, professional learning needs, and a statewide AI hub.
Maryland education officials unveiled a statewide artificial‑intelligence guidance package for K–12 schools at the State Board of Education meeting on February 1, describing tools and guardrails to help districts adopt AI responsibly.
Richard Kinkade, MSDE’s career‑connected learning lead who is coordinating the AI effort, told the board the department developed an AI “hub” with resources for educators, students and families, a district planning guide, a teacher resource guide that centers educators as subject‑matter experts, and an AI evaluation rubric districts can use when vetting products. Kinkade said MSDE’s approach emphasizes student privacy and cybersecurity and aims to give LEAs flexible but clear expectations for procurement and local governance.
MSDE described eight critical elements of statewide guidance: student‑centered use, equity and access, data privacy and security, academic integrity and assessment, professional learning, AI literacy and curriculum, operational uses, and procurement/vendor governance. The department said it will not pre‑approve every product used locally; rather, it will provide rubrics and evaluator tools for LEAs to assess vendors and contracts for privacy and security clauses.
Superintendents who participated in MSDE convenings asked that guidance be flexible, prioritize job‑embedded professional learning for educators and operations staff, and align with existing state priorities rather than creating a separate compliance regime. Kinkade said MSDE would continue to build asynchronous professional learning modules, family‑ and student‑facing materials, and a working network of districts to share lessons learned.
Board members asked about accountability, resourcing for professional development, and the risk that AI could worsen the digital divide. MSDE staff said legal and privacy expectations will be explicit in the guidance and that accountability largely follows existing technology‑use and procurement rules; they acknowledged that funding and PD capacity remain constraints and that MSDE will pursue partnerships and phased rollout strategies.
MSDE said its guidance draws on model work from other states, the Southern Regional Education Board, and national organizations; the department noted that more than 30 other states have AI guidance and that many early adopters are revising policies as the technology evolves. MSDE’s materials are posted on its AI hub and the department invited LEAs to use the planning guide and rubrics to inform local policy and vendor selection.