Nearly 1 in 3 District and School Leaders Skip AI for Operations. Here’s What the Rest Do

A growing number of tools used daily in schools are now supercharged with generative artificial intelligence, and educators are figuring out what role the fast-evolving technology should play in instruction and operations.

Many surveys over the past few years have shown that, increasingly, teachers are experimenting with generative AI to help them save time on administrative tasks and improve instruction.

But less attention has been paid to the opportunities and challenges that generative AI could afford to school operations. Are schools and districts using the technology to craft budgets, manage bus routes, or analyze student data?

In a nationally representative survey of 852 educators that included 262 district and school leaders, conducted between Aug. 26 and Oct. 6 of this year, the EdWeek Research Center asked administrators to identify the business or operational purposes their school or district uses generative AI to help manage.

Nearly one-third of respondents said they don’t use AI for any school or district operational purposes, the survey found.

For those using the technology, the top five answers were: school/district communications, foreign-language translation, strategic planning, employee evaluation, and class scheduling, according to the survey.

Ronn Nozoe, the CEO of the National Principals Association, said the results are not surprising to him.

“The dataset was pretty close to what I hear, what I’ve seen across the country,” he said. “The big issue is making sure [school leaders] are protecting student privacy, so I’m not surprised that a lot of the [school operational use of AI] is more about communications.”

Krestin Bahr, the superintendent of Peninsula school district in Washington state and a member of the AASA executive team, said she’s not really hearing a lot of conversations among district leaders about leveraging AI in operations.

Their focus has been on the screen time debate, getting resources for teachers to receive PD about the technology, and ensuring students’ safety and privacy, she said.

A challenge for school and district leaders in unlocking the potential of AI for operational purposes is that there aren’t always employees who know how to use the technology effectively, Nozoe and Bahr said.

In the Peninsula district, Bahr has made AI a priority, giving her staff time and training opportunities to learn the technology, especially leveraging AI agents. The district uses AI for routing efficiencies, optimizing enrollment reporting, and analyzing substitute teacher rates.

“The intent is to optimize when you can, and to use tools so that we can be ahead of the curve with problems instead of being reactive,” Bahr said.

In addition, the absence of national guidelines might also be slowing down the uptake of AI in school operations, he said.

“It’s not like everybody has to do the exact same thing, but there should be some national guidelines that everybody knows,” Nozoe said. “From there, schools and districts can adjust accordingly, based on their particular context. Otherwise, everybody’s iterating on their own, and that’s probably not the best use of everyone’s time.”

To see how schools or districts are using AI for business or operational needs, check out these Education Week articles:

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