Investing in R&D for Safe and Effective AI in Education: Federal Policy Recommendations

Education R&D

Brief Policy Report

October 2026

YoungSmilingTeacherWithTabletLookingAtCleverSchoolboyAnd - Alliance For Learning Innovation

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Federal policymakers can build on and coordinate their investments in education research and development (R&D) to explore the safe and effective applications of AI for teaching and learning.

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The recommendations put forward in this brief focus on strengthening and coordinating federal R&D investments that will deepen our understanding of how to leverage AI for the benefit of students, teachers, and school administrators. They build upon our Blueprint for the Future of the Federal Role in K-12 Education R&D and federal policy recommendations for Leveraging Education R&D to Support High-Quality Career-Connected Learning.

The Alliance for Learning Innovation (ALI) urges Congress and the Trump Administration to:

Build a stronger evidence base for safe and effective AI in education
Improve AI-enabled tools and approaches in education;
Build infrastructure to facilitate better AI-in-education R&D;
Coordinate and carry out a unified AI-in-education R&D agenda; and
Leverage AI to make federal R&D investments more effective and transparent.

ALI conducts advocacy work thanks to financial support from the Walton Education Coalition (WEC).

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