The White House on AI for K-12 education

A new executive order

A couple of hours ago the White House posted its first glimpse into its strategy for AI and education. It’s a web page entitled “Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Advances AI Education for American Youth." Its focus is on K-12.

I’d like to share some very quick notes and observations. First I’ll summarize the document’s main points. Next I’ll offer some reflections. Then I’ll focus on the fact sheet’s language to identify key concepts.

Caveat: what follows is in haste, a kind of rapid-response post to start digging into a rapidly developing story. Also, I am down with the flu, so I hope what follows is coherent. Hopefully I can revisit this soon. I’d love to hear from readers.

And please don’t take my comments for an endorsement of the policy.

The main action here is the creation of a White House Task Force on AI Education.

One function of that group is running a "Presidential AI Challenge." It’s not clear what form that takes - an annual contest? A regular theme with prizes? The document does give a general idea:

[it] which will encourage and highlight student and educator achievements in AI, promote wide geographic adoption of technological advancement, and foster collaboration between government, academia, philanthropy, and industry to address national challenges with AI solutions.

The task force’s makeup is interesting and a bit inchoate: “The task force will be chaired by the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and include other key members of the administration, such as the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Labor, and the Special Advisor for AI & Crypto.” Note the chair is the Science and Technology Policy lead, *not* the Secretary of Education.

The Task Force directs or connects with various federal departments and offices, either as programs or spillover effects:

• Education: "the Secretary of Education [will] prioritize the use of AI in discretionary grant programs for teacher training.”

• The National Science Foundation (NSF): will “prioritize research on the use of AI in education."

• Labor: the "Secretary of Labor [will] leverage authorities and financial incentives to increase participation in AI-related apprenticeships."

• Labor will also “encourage States and grantees to use Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding to develop AI skills and support work-based learning opportunities within occupations utilizing AI.”

There is a multi-agency move for AI curricula and certification:

The Secretary of Labor, through the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training, in collaboration with the Director of NSF, will work with State and local workforce organizations and training providers to identify and promote high-quality AI skills education coursework and certifications across the country.

There’s another multi-agency plan aimed at high school students:

The Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Education, and the NSF Director will work together to create opportunities for high school students to take AI courses and certification programs.

More observations:

It’s interesting to see that connection between AI, the Department of Labor, and apprenticeships. Some have wanted the US to follow Germany and Switzerland in supporting apprenticeships for a long time. Perhaps this is the start of such a move.

This is clearly aimed at workforce development. "Early training in AI will demystify this technology and prepare America’s students to be confident participants in the AI-assisted workforce..." "Lifelong learners also need new resources to develop technical skills for a rapidly evolving work environment that increasingly incorporates digital technology."

The Department of Education is really a secondary player in this plan. The Labor Department takes the lion’s share of actions, it seems, and the task force’s chair is the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The National Science Foundation has some role to play, including doing research - which Education used to do.

The announcement emphasizes the private sector quite strongly. Lots of talk about public-private partnerships. Along those lines I’m curious about the capacities this task force will have. The announcement didn’t mention any budget. Meanwhile, Trump and Musk have been cutting some of the agencies involved, notably the Department of Education. So is this just a symbolic move - and, if so, for what audience, to show the world Trump is still interested in AI? Or is the goal to trawl for business partnerships and contributions?

I’m curious about the curricular and certification dimension. Will one department launch a document repository? Might Labor issue its own credentials or certify those published by schools and companies?

One header calls for AI literacy, but it’s not clear what that means or how it plays out in the task force’s actions.

On the order’s language, some themes to identify:

“AI is rapidly transforming the modern world, driving innovation, enhancing productivity, and reshaping how we live and work” - emphasizes the certainty or inevitability of AI.

“America’s youth need opportunities to cultivate the skills and understanding necessary to use and create the next generation of AI technology” - focus on skills for use, as well as creating more AI.

“Early training in AI will demystify this technology and prepare America’s students to be confident participants in the AI-assisted workforce, propelling our nation to new heights of scientific and economic achievement” - the workforce is key, along with research and economic growth.

“Preparing our students to be leaders in AI technology also requires investing in our educators, providing them with the tools and knowledge to both train students about AI and utilize the technology in the classroom” - professional development for K-12 teachers.

“Lifelong learners also need new resources to develop technical skills for a rapidly evolving work environment that increasingly incorporates digital technology” - again that mix of skills and certainty.

Last note: there’s barely any role for higher education in this document.. Academia is mentioned just once. Otherwise this is K-12 and the workforce. More, one could see some of the ideas - apprenticeships, getting students into the labor market, work-based learning opportunities - as ways of outflanking colleges and universities.

What do you make of it?

(many thanks to my AI colleagues for thinking this through with me)