What we did
Impact Florida surveyed over 100 teachers, school leaders, and district administrators across 35 Florida districts to understand educators' needs, priorities, and concerns related to AI tools and technology in education. The resulting insights can inform the adoption, implementation, and considerations of AI in education across the state.
What we learned
Teachers, school leaders, and district leaders are aligned on the value and urgency of exploring AI in education, but their specific priorities, preferred uses, and core concerns vary substantially by role.
- Priorities. Mathematics instruction (13.9%) was the most frequently selected instructional priority across all survey responses, just edging out reading and literacy (13.2%).
- Most desired tool. AI tools that support teachers with lesson planning, grading, and feedback were the most desired (18%).
- Biggest concern. Data privacy was the top concern about AI in education, cited by 22.0% of all participants, higher than concerns about professional development (15.4%), AI’s bias (10.4%), or societal impact (9.9%).
However, priorities, hopes, and concerns vary by educators’ roles.
- Teachers are focused on day-to-day impact—especially tools that help with student engagement, chronic absenteeism, and lesson planning. Usability, guidance, and professional development are top concerns.
- School leaders placed a unique emphasis on tools to support reading and literacy instruction, and were more likely than others to raise questions about the role of AI in society.
- District leaders prioritize math and system-level tools like dashboards. Top concerns include data privacy and ensuring staff have the training to use new tools well.
