Policy

Plus, New York announced $50 million for broadband infrastructure, Philadelphia has launched a tool to find free Wi-Fi in the city, federal broadband legislation has been introduced, and more.

New legislation in Alabama bans K-12 students from using portable communication devices on campus during the school day and requires that they be trained on the risks of social media.

The West Virginia House of Delegates passed the legislation at the request of Gov. Patrick Morrisey. It’s a sweeping energy bill that aims to usher in an increase of data center development.

Experts at the Consortium for School Networking’s annual conference in Seattle urged K-12 leaders to contact the FCC and Congress and voice their support for the E-rate program that funds school broadband.

Gov. Mike DeWine’s multibillion-dollar transportation budget, which he signed late Monday, will bar counties and townships from operating traffic camera programs. A 2015 law closely regulated their use for ticketing.

Some parents oppose legislation that would ban cellphones in Georgia public schools, arguing that the devices are essential for communicating with their kids in the event of a school shooting.

The sales tax on data, information technology and software publishing is at the center of a potential tax reform plan, which, in addition to more than $2 billion in spending cuts, aims to fill a budget shortfall.

Legislation active in each state focuses on the functions of IT agencies. One such bill would replace Florida Digital Service, while Alabama representatives may add cybersecurity to the Office of Information Technology’s duties.

The Virginia governor's veto of a measure that would have regulated artificial intelligence, and the revision of an AI governance bill in Texas, signal a potentially noteworthy juncture in the creation of such policy.

A Government Technology tracker of the evolving landscape of state government efficiency initiatives, distinguishing between those directly inspired by federal DOGE directives and independent programs.

Texas lawmakers are trying to figure out how the state's already-strained power grid can keep up with the data centers that want to come to the state and consume large amounts of electricity.

The bill, which would ban using the algorithms critics and investigators have said were used to raise apartment rents in Denver and nationally, now heads to the state Senate. A similar measure died there last year.

President Donald Trump and Georgia lawmakers both say they want to encourage innovation in the field of artificial intelligence. But they are poised to take different approaches.

Alabama and Oklahoma are the latest states to block AI tools with overseas ties from being used on government devices. Concerns include a lack of security as well as data collection and storage practices.

After previously mandating in-person learning, Kentucky lawmakers came to the defense of a growing virtual academy that had low test scores and did not follow state guidelines for class sizes and standardized testing.

Gov. Kay Ivey released the group’s final report on GenAI use in state agencies. It recommends a standardized framework, stronger oversight and training to guide the responsible use of the technology.

It’s not only about the research funding that has made America a world leader in innovation. Community and technical colleges are crucial to meeting our workforce needs.

In lieu of federal leadership on ed-tech issues from the digital divide to cybersecurity to AI governance, state education technology offices will have to step up with investments, training, advocacy and partnerships.