New Requirement for Schools: Artificial Intelligence Safety Policy – Tallahassee Reports

The Florida Department of Education is now mandating that school districts include artificial intelligence (AI) in their existing internet safety policies.
The Department of Education (DOE) is requiring amendments to these established “Internet Safety” policies to integrate AI considerations.
A rule development workshop for these amendments is scheduled to take place on June 22.
Despite Gov. Ron DeSantis’s legislative priority, the Florida Legislature failed to pass any comprehensive AI-specific legislation this year.
The proposed but unsuccessful measure would have included provisions for parents to regulate children’s interactions with AI chatbots, forbidden government agencies from contracting with AI firms linked to “foreign countries of concern,” and set rules regarding the unauthorized use of people’s names, images, or likenesses.
Notably, the legislature’s inaction left unresolved how AI can or should be integrated within educational institutions.