Below is 1EdTech Consortium’s response to the U.S. Department of Education’s call for public comments on the “Guidance on the Use of Federal Grant Funds to Improve Education Outcomes Using Artificial Intelligence.”

The 1EdTech Consortium supports the U.S. Department of Education’s promotion and guidance on the responsible integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education through the use of formula and discretionary grant funds. This initiative represents a critical step toward ensuring that AI is applied to improve learner outcomes and strengthen our education ecosystem.

Learners are already making extensive use of AI tools, and they will increasingly live and work in a world that requires them to be effective, ethical, and responsible users of AI, developing expertise as they move from education to careers. As education leaders, we share the responsibility to help all learners and educators understand both the potential benefits, risks, and shortfalls of AI. Students and staff alike must be supported with opportunities to reflect on the ethical, responsible, and effective use of AI tools in learning, teaching, and administration.

We strongly support the inclusion of AI literacy programs not only for students but also for professional educators, instructional staff, administrators and parents. AI can play a vital role in developing powerful planning tools, adaptive learning resources, and student support services that reduce costs, save time, and enhance teaching and learning.

We also see great potential for AI in College and Career Pathway Exploration and Navigation, especially when paired with open standards that promote learner mobility and competency-based education. 

In addition, we encourage the Department to prioritize research and evidence-building around:

  • How AI enhances learning processes and supports behaviors that promote critical thinking.

  • The role of “human-in-the-loop” approaches, which provide support from experts, to ensure accountability and trust.

  • Effective practices for incorporating references, attribution, and citation management into AI-supported scholarship.

  • Ongoing work to mitigate and transparently address imbalances and limitations in large language models, including promoting data integrity and inclusivity in training data.

  • Open technical and data standards are essential to ensure AI delivers real value in education. They make it easier for learning resources and AI tools to work together, support the use of data to improve outcomes, and provide secure, well-governed access to student information. For example, the Competencies and Academic Standards Exchange (CASE) connects knowledge and skills across state lines, linking education to workforce needs and giving AI systems accurate information to guide students on career pathways.

Finally, as a membership organization committed to open standards and interoperability, 1EdTech urges the Department to prioritize trusted digital ecosystems that emphasize learner safety, security, and privacy when funding AI initiatives. By ensuring that AI is integrated through secure, standards-based approaches, we can protect sensitive data while also making innovations scalable, sustainable, and effective for all learners.

Response submitted August 20, 2025.