California is putting a stop to digital educators.
Starting in 2027, public schools in California will be prohibited from using AI as teachers for K-12 students.
Recently signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, the new amendments to the state education code clarify that all staff and contractors in public schools must be “natural persons.”
Assembly Bill 2148 indicates that while AI tools can assist in learning, like tutoring software, any instruction must come from a human.
The lawmakers initially aimed for a total ban on AI in education, but they eventually softened the proposal to require that only humans can educate and support students in the state’s K-12 public schools.
“Unfortunately, we have reached a point in human history where we need to define educators as human beings,” stated Rep. Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance), the bill’s author. He noted that the legislation highlights the uncertainties brought on by the “dramatic rise” of AI and its influence on education’s future.
Muratsuchi further emphasized the bill’s purpose: recognizing that as long as children are human, they need human teachers to maintain essential connections in education.
This legislation emerges as AI schools are on the rise in California, including a private AI-driven institution in Santa Monica that will charge $65,000 per year and is set to open next month.
