Virginia’s AI Education Policy Landscape

Student Population : 1,231,700

Official Policies

UPDATE: In January, 2024, Governor Youngkin signed Executive Order 30, which implemented “Guidelines for AI Integration Throughout Education in the Commonwealth of Virginia”. This short resource embraces the use of AI in academic settings, and comprises three short components, “Guiding Principles”, “Strategies for Success”, and “Roles and Responsibilities”.

As of September 2023, Governor Youngkin plans to release “recommendations for uniform standards for the responsible, ethical and transparent use of AI across all state agencies and offices including… Education guidelines for the use of AI in K-12 public schools and higher education institutions”, and to promote guidelines, impact learning, prohibit cheating, “examine the potential uses of AI tools for personalized tutoring”, and incorporate AI-related topics in curriculums. These guidelines are set to be released before December 15th.

Universities

UVA has resources regarding AI dispersed around their site, including a letter from Executive Vice President Ian Baucum announcing a new Gen-AI and Teaching and Learning Task Force which is set to “culminate in a set of recommendations about how UVA can leverage the opportunities and manage the challenges of this technology in the near term”. There is also a page clearly responding to FAQs by students and faculty on the use of Gen-AI in the classroom.

School Districts

Fairfax County, VA (Population: 174,479): In August 2023, there was a note published by FCPS regarding AI: “FCPS recognizes the immense value AI tools can offer staff in streamlining their administrative workload. We are investing resources to evaluate and create consistent use cases to enable our staff to safely use approved tools. Additionally, FCPS has established a cross functional joint working group across technology and instructional teams to create long term instructional guidance, and to ensure we continue to prepare students for the careers of the future.”

FCPS considers research around AI in education as part of their Strategic Plan goals, primarily “Leading for Tomorrow’s Innovation, which seeks to push students to innovate and prepare for the future”.