Trump’s order directs the federal Education Department and the National Science Foundation to prioritize awarding grants and conducting research related to artificial intelligence.
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WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump signed an executive order on April 23 aimed at bringing artificial intelligence into K-12 schools in hopes of building a U.S. workforce equipped to use and advance the rapidly growing technology.
The directive, reported first by USA TODAY before Trump’s signing, instructs the U.S. Education and Labor Departments to create opportunities for high school students to take AI courses and certification programs, and to work with states to promote AI education.
Trump also directed the Education Department to favor the application of AI in discretionary grant programs for teacher training, the National Science Foundation to prioritize research on the use of AI in education, and the Labor Department to expand AI-related apprenticeships.
“This is a big deal, because AI seems to be where it’s at,” Trump said before he signed the order in the Oval Office.
The order ‒ one of seven education-related directives Trump signed April 23 ‒ underscores an area of bipartisan concern: how best to incorporate AI into teaching. Both Democrats and Republicans have expressed fears about American students falling behind other nations, particularly China, as technology becomes more advanced and integrated into the workforce.
“We have literally trillions of dollars being invested in AI,” Trump said. “Somebody today, a very smart person, said that AI is the way to the future. I don’t know if that’s right or not, but certainly very smart people are investing in it.”
In addition, Trump’s order creates a White House Task Force on AI Education, which includes Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and will be chaired by Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The group will develop a “Presidential AI Challenge,” the White House said, which will highlight and encourage the use of AI in the classroom. The task force will also be responsible for establishing public-private partnerships to provide resources for AI education in K-12 schools.
Other executive orders signed by Trump target so-called “woke ideology” in the accreditation of universities; reinforce laws requiring the disclosure of foreign gifts by colleges and universities; and create a new White House initiative to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HBCUs.
A bipartisan congressional report issued in December 2024 said, “K-12 educators need resources to promote AI literacy.” However, it also acknowledged that AI in the workforce and schools must be deployed within the bounds of labor and antidiscrimination laws.
Though conservatives and liberals agree on the need to embrace some aspects of AI in schools, they have clashed over the role of federal regulations in that process.
“AI will likely revolutionize the way students learn, but the federal government doesn’t need to be involved,” concluded a Republican recap from an April committee hearing on AI in education.
The Washington Post was the first to report on April 22 about a draft executive order circulating among federal departments to incorporate AI into K-12 classrooms.
Trump’s executive order instructs the labor secretary to financially incentivize AI-related apprenticeships. Apprenticeships have been widely embraced in recent years by Democrats and Republicans, including McMahon, as essential alternatives to college.
The new White House initiative comes after an embarrassing viral moment for McMahon, who on April 8 confused AI with A.1., a popular steak sauce, during a conference in San Diego. (Initially, she used the acronym correctly, but stumbled as she continued her public remarks.)
Shortly after his inauguration in January, Trump signed an order rescinding regulations for AI expansion that had previously been adopted by former President Joe Biden. Trump also promoted a $500 billion private investment from three tech companies that planned to build new AI data centers.
In March, President Trump signed a separate order seeking to dismantle the Education Department. The agency still exists, however (though with just half the workforce it once had). Only Congress can entirely abolish federal agencies.
A coalition of states sued the Trump administration more than a month ago, alleging the mass layoffs at the Education Department were illegal. A court hearing to consider a preliminary injunction on the firings is set for April 25.
Joey Garrison is a White House correspondent for USA TODAY. Follow him on X at @joeygarrison.
Zachary Schermele is an education reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.
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