BOSTON — Ninety-eight teenagers from all 50 states gathered at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate in Boston in late July 2026. The students drafted and passed the "Students First Act," a set of guidelines for AI use in K-12 schools.

The legislation passed with a vote of 82-16 during the civic simulation held on July 30, 2026. The event was hosted by the Edward M. Kennedy Institute, AASA (The School Superintendents Association), and Day of AI. The Edward M. Kennedy Institute is an educational institution and museum in Boston, Massachusetts.

The Students First Act requires states to provide AI literacy instruction as soon as students receive access to classroom devices. It includes a requirement for the federal government to provide funding for AI literacy instruction to address inequities in underprivileged schools. The act prohibits students from using AI for writing, but allows editing, brainstorming, and studying with AI after eighth grade.

Students permitted to use AI must cite their usage and demonstrate mastery through discussions, handwritten tests, or oral defenses. The legislation bans the use of AI on all graded tests. It allows teachers to require an oral defense of any project from a student suspected of using AI inappropriately.

Work from students suspected of inappropriate AI use must be reviewed by two school officials in addition to AI checker software. Teachers are allowed to use AI for lesson planning, creating practice materials, providing feedback, and improving instruction. The act requires teachers to post a clear, written AI usage policy each semester.

AASA (The School Superintendents Association) plans to distribute the text of the Students First Act to its 10,000 member school leaders. Day of AI is a nonprofit launched out of MIT's RAISE AI literacy initiative. Jeffrey Riley is the executive director of Day of AI and former education commissioner of Massachusetts.

"The adults themselves haven't been able to come to consensus on this, right? And so now it falls to the kids. Let them lead the way," said Jeffrey Riley, executive director of Day of AI.

Research titled "Chapter Ninety-Eight" was published in 2011 in Land. Kennedy Institute is journal.

The Students First Act represents a student-led effort to establish comprehensive guidelines for artificial intelligence in education at a time when adult policymakers have not reached a consensus. By passing the act with an 82-16 vote, the ninety-eight participants created a framework that addresses both instructional equity and academic integrity. The requirement for federal funding aims to address inequities in underprivileged schools, while the ban on AI for graded tests seeks to preserve traditional assessment methods.

AASA (The School Superintendents Association) will distribute the text to its 10,000 member school leaders, potentially influencing policy decisions across numerous districts. The act's provisions for oral defenses and handwritten tests provide specific mechanisms for verifying student mastery, though metrics for these assessments remain undefined. The involvement of Day of AI, a nonprofit launched out of MIT's RAISE AI literacy initiative, shows the role of educational organizations in facilitating youth civic engagement on technology policy.