AI disruption in education: Funding shifts for schools

Funding in K-12 education is complicated. And we mean REALLY complicated.

While the scope of federal, local, state, and millages, taxes, and grants are a bit outside our purview (check out The Delta, a super helpful newsletter from our friends at Watershed Advisors), one thing that is well within our scope is data. Collecting, analyzing, and reporting data is at the core of every education funding stream. And AI is beginning to transform how schools manage those data-driven components. At IDS, we want to help education organizations navigate that shift.

Recently, the federal government proposed updates to its grantmaking to support the use of AI for educational data, stating, “When used effectively, AI tools have the potential to support personalized instruction, increase classroom engagement, and improve student outcomes. Educators are beginning to use AI-powered platforms to analyze student progress, identify learning gaps, and tailor support to individual needs. This work is only the beginning.” If discretionary grants begin to prioritize AI integration, how should school systems respond?

So if discretionary grants will shift to prioritize the use of AI, how are school systems going to react? First off, we need to start with a disclaimer. We understand why cash-strapped systems are looking for ways to fill the gaps left by the COVID-era funding cliff, but creating new programs just to capture new grants often trades one headache for another.

Our recommendation? Start with your existing goals and strategic plan. Once you’re grounded in your priorities, you can identify where AI might enhance your work. Here are three broad areas that can support your work.

1. Support Teachers With High-Quality Instructional Materials

Some of those supports will involve AI. We’ve seen districts use AI to:

• Adapt curriculum scopes and sequences

• Break down complex materials into digestible units

• Adjust pacing to account for weather or scheduling disruptions

One resource you might find fun? The decodable text generator from Project Read. Select your curriculum and focus and it will generate high quality decodable text aligned to your curriculum.  

2. Coaching all staff to deliver high quality instruction. 

This means ALL staff. Your paraprofessionals, your administrators, in fact everyone wearing a staff ID badge on your campus is an educator. Sometimes we get confused about why so many students are not achieving mastery. We would encourage you to go back to your Tier 1 supports; these should be robust enough that 80%+ of students will achieve mastery. You can utilize AI to support staff professional development, but be wary. AI is a tool, not the product itself. 

3. Align instruction so it produces students who are literate, numerate, and critical thinkers.

Preparing students for college, career, and service starts with identifying who needs help and supporting them effectively. Some of these supports and some of this coaching will also utilize AI, like Louisiana’s AI tutor reading pilot. Other systems are using the Cohort Achievement Tracker’s AI Insight for RTI (Response to Intervention). The AI Insights feature securely analyzes student data, such as DIBELS subscores, to deliver actionable recommendations (read more here).

Once you’d identified your most critical goal, the funding should be in support of this work. Start with your priorities, then take advantage of funding that will bolster work that’s already underway. 

Final Thoughts and How to Take Action

As you can see, school systems do not need to create anything new to access AI funding. AI is a classic “good servant/bad master” situation. We can utilize AI to help us achieve our existing aims, but when we put AI first instead of our instructional priorities, it’s a distraction. 

How are you using AI? Does your school system think about AI in terms of support for students differently? Share with us below! If you’d like to see the Cohort Achievement Tracker’s AI Insight for RTI in action, book thirty minutes with us at https://calendly.com/instructionalds/30min. 

About Instructional Data Solutions: Our mission is to remove barriers to enable education organizations to focus on what matters most. We assist school systems and education organizations of all sizes by collecting, analyzing, and clearly communicating data. We are committed to empowering educators through comprehensive data analytics and tailored support. Additionally, we provide dedicated support for operational needs, process improvement, and special projects, offering customized solutions to enhance effectiveness and success. Our solutions bridge the gap between data collection and instructional improvement in PK-12 settings.