🛝 Ed Dept Issues AI Advice, Districts Want Better Data, Teachers Build Tools

Welcome to Playground Post, a bi-weekly newsletter that keeps education innovators ahead of what's next.

This week's reality check: The Education Department is telling schools how to use federal grants for AI while district leaders beg Congress to restore the cybersecurity programs the same agency just cut. Meanwhile, teachers in California are proving they don't need federal guidance - they're building their own AI solutions.

💎 Data Gem

Teachers who use AI at least weekly save 5.9 hours per week (~six weeks per year), according to a new Gallup–Walton Family Foundation survey. Yet only 32% of teachers use AI weekly and just 19% say their school has an AI policy.

Education Department Issues AI Priorities. But What If the Agency Closes?

The Education Department just sent guidance to districts on using federal grants for AI initiatives. Secretary Linda McMahon's letter encourages funding AI-enhanced curriculum tools, high-impact tutoring, and college pathway advising.

The department also outlined seven priorities for AI grant seekers, including embedding AI literacy in classrooms, providing educator professional development, and supporting services for students with disabilities.

But there's a catch. 

The same administration shuttered the Office of Educational Technology in March and continues pushing to dismantle the entire agency.

Over 400 district leaders just wrote Congress asking them to restore federal cybersecurity leadership after program cuts left schools without critical threat intelligence and incident response services.

The Federal Communications Commission received $3.7 billion in requests for a $200 million cybersecurity pilot program. 

That's 18 times more demand than available funding.

District technology leaders are increasingly worried about AI-powered cyberattacks, but the federal agencies that should help are being cut or eliminated.

If federal guidance disappears, private companies will need to fill the gap with cybersecurity solutions designed for schools, AI policy frameworks, and professional development platforms that don't require federal oversight.

Districts Turn to Data Analytics Partnerships for Student Insights

West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District in New Jersey just partnered with Otus and Discovery Education to centralize assessment data and improve student outcomes.

The district will use the platform to group students with similar needs for targeted intervention, align instructional strategies with data insights, and create collaborative success plans for every student.

What makes this interesting? 

WWP is the first district nationwide to leverage the unique Otus-Discovery Education partnership combining content and analytics. They're essentially piloting a new model for how districts can integrate learning solutions with data platforms.

The timing matters. 

Districts are drowning in data from multiple sources but struggling to turn information into actionable insights. They want holistic views of student learning, not more dashboards.

The market need is clear for platforms that don't just collect data, but actually help districts make instructional decisions. The WWP partnership suggests there's demand for integrated solutions that combine assessment, analytics, and professional learning.

Companies building in this space should focus on making data actionable, not just accessible.

Want Teachers to Use AI? Let Them Build the Tools

A new study from the Center on Reinventing Public Education tracked 80+ teachers and administrators across 18 California schools who designed their own AI tools through the Silicon Schools Fund's "Exploratory AI" program.

The results? Teachers learned to build and customize AI tools quickly with just six training sessions.

But here's what mattered more than technical skills: having a clear instructional vision. 

Researchers found that AI either became a "core accelerator" for teaching goals or just "a paint job" when schools lacked direction.

Take Summit Tamalpais High School. Their team created a chatbot using Enneagram personality assessments to help teachers collaborate better. It's now used in professional development meetings and parent-teacher conferences.

Or Gilroy Prep, which built a restorative justice app that generates behavioral reflection activities and parent communication letters based on incident details, grade level, and available time.

The twist?

These weren't tech-savvy teachers. They were regular educators who wanted to solve specific classroom problems.

Teachers don't want pre-built AI solutions as much as they want the ability to create tools that fit their specific contexts and instructional approaches.

Companies should consider platforms that let educators customize AI tools rather than selling one-size-fits-all products. The demand exists - teachers just need training that combines technical skills with instructional design thinking.

More Quick Hits

This week in education:

• Student pushes back on device bans — High schooler argues Georgia's new law banning devices adds to teacher workload without addressing underlying engagement issues

• Corporate-funded AI academy launches — American Federation of Teachers creates AI Teacher Training Center with $23 million from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft

• States fund early childhood programs — Multiple states create permanent trust funds to stabilize child care and preschool funding as federal pandemic aid expires

📚 Weekend Reads

Monthly roundup of weekend reads you might like:

Education Cannot Wait – Global Estimates 2025 — Latest data essential for understanding global education technology needs

RAND: Teacher Well-Being and Pay Study — 2025 analysis of teacher satisfaction, compensation, and retention intentions with implications for education workforce solutions

Carnegie Learning: State of AI in Education 2025 — National educator survey revealing AI adoption patterns and identifying remaining product opportunities

Brookings: Post-COVID Recovery Analysis — Five-year analysis showing divergent math and reading recovery patterns, highlighting ongoing academic support needs

To stay up-to-date on all things education innovation, visit us at playgroundpost.com.