WA researchers call out state education office for toothless K–12 AI policy

University of Washington professor Tomas Rocha published an op-ed in the Seattle Times criticizing Washington state's Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for issuing AI guidance that fails to adequately protect students or set meaningful standards for how schools should — or shouldn't — use AI tools. The piece was amplified by UW linguistics professor Emily Bender, co-author of the influential 'Stochastic Parrots' paper, who called the policy 'weak sauce.'

The critique lands as school districts nationwide grapple with AI vendor pitches and no clear federal framework to lean on, leaving state-level guidance as the de facto guardrail. Washington's stumble is likely representative: most state education offices are producing aspirational AI policy documents with few enforceable teeth, creating real exposure for districts that deploy tools without understanding the risks.