EDUCATION
New Mexico should come up with a plan to regulate AI use in schools, state officials say
Lawmakers debate personalized learning benefits against cheating, data privacy and cognitive concerns
Published
State officials are advocating for New Mexico to adopt a statewide governance plan for the use of artificial intelligence in schools.
At a meeting of the Legislative Education Study Committee in Raton, policy analyst Sara铆 Ortiz presented a on AI in the classroom and recommended that New Mexico establish an AI oversight body in the face of a rapidly changing digital landscape.
While the state Public Education Department issued guidance on AI use last year, schools and districts are not required to follow it. The suggest grade-appropriate AI literacy, ethical and responsible use and strategies for AI integration.
Ortiz cited concerns about students鈥� data privacy, use of AI for cheating and overreliance on the programs, which can lead to cognitive decline, she said.
鈥淭he promise of AI in education is personalized learning, improved outcomes and classroom efficiency, but we also know that research is currently mixed and still emerging,鈥� Ortiz said Wednesday.
The legislative report references a January 2026 from the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit Washington, D.C.-based think tank, which found that the risks of using generative AI in the classroom outweigh the benefits, and an MIT titled 鈥淵our Brain on Chat GPT,鈥� which found students who were heavy users of AI showed less neurological activity.
鈥淭hey have to know how to use it, and it needs to start early, because they're going to be competing with other kids all over the country who are using it every day,鈥� said Rep. Debra Sari帽ana, an Albuquerque Democrat and a retired teacher.
New Mexico is one of three states that passed a legislative measure to study AI in education, though the Legislature has not yet adopted the recommendations from the study, the report said.
Since 2025, 35 states have introduced AI-related education legislation, 24 have enacted AI laws or resolutions and more than 35 have published AI guidance.
鈥淭hey have to be able to think,鈥� Sari帽ana said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 where we鈥檙e going to lose our kids and lose their learning, because everything can鈥檛 be easy.鈥�
Rep. Tanya Mirabal Moya, a Los Lunas Republican and a teacher, said she was in favor of limits on AI in the classroom because she鈥檇 seen students use it to cheat.
As of the beginning of this school year, the state of New Mexico requires an AI-driven software called Amira for reading assessments for students in kindergarten through second grade at public schools and public charter schools.
The PED recommends 30 minutes of tutoring on Amira per week for students in need of reading intervention.
While official data from Amira and state agencies like the PED report the program grades with the same as human scorers, teachers told the Journal there are discrepancies between Amira鈥檚 scores and a student's actual abilities.
Some teachers and staff reported inaccuracies in the program鈥檚 scoring, especially when a student had a foreign accent or a speech disorder.
鈥淧ED鈥檚 deployment of Amira highlights the state's current policy gaps,鈥� Ortiz said. 鈥淚t's unclear what vetting process and stakeholder input PED used prior to implementation.鈥�
Despite the bugs, some lawmakers said Wednesday that responsible AI use could be a helpful tool.
Retired aerospace engineer Sen. Ant Thornton, R-Sandia Park, cited comments made by SpaceX founder Elon Musk about the role of AI in the modern classroom.
AI can be used to create individualized education programs for each student, which ensures personalized learning, he said.
鈥淓verybody has to learn the basics: how to read, write and some basic math, but the teacher becomes more of a coach, mentor, sort of intervening when there's a problem,鈥� Thornton said.
AI would allow students to move forward at a pace they鈥檙e comfortable with, he said, instead of educators having to teach to the 鈥渓owest common denominator.鈥�
鈥淎I is not going to go away, so we're going to have to figure out how to use it,鈥� Thornton said.
Sen. Bill Soules, D-Las Cruces, said he often used generative AI as a 鈥渢hought partner鈥� to help him with writing.
鈥淚 think there's a lot we can do with it,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here's a whole lot of research and studies and sorting out that's going to come, and it's both exciting and a little frightening.鈥�
Soules jokingly asked Ortiz if she鈥檇 used AI to create her report.
鈥淚 did not,鈥� she said.
Natalie Robbins covers education for the Journal. You can reach her at nrobbins@abqjournal.com.
