TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Department of Education is proposing a rule to require all public colleges in the state to adopt policies addressing artificial intelligence.
DOE wants all 28 institutions in the Florida College System to outline AI policies for students, staff and guests on campus, covering academic integrity and dishonesty, course assignments and grading.
“The purpose of this rule is to require Florida College System institutions to adopt policies that provide for the use and limitations of use of artificial intelligence tools in order to ensure quality of education for students, efficiency of operations, and a safe learning environment for the whole college community,” the proposed rule states.
Education Commissioner Henry Mack approved the rule on Monday, and the State Board of Education will consider the issue at their next meeting on Sept. 16 at Polk State College in Winter Haven.
The rule applies to AI and AI instructional tools, which are defined as software applications or services that use AI.
Instructional tools do not include AI that “meet a student’s social needs,” like simulating a friendship or relationship and employing “anthropomorphic design features for the purpose of encouraging a student to continue interacting with the system.”
DOE is already in the process of directing all K-12 school districts to incorporate rules regarding AI in their internet safety guidelines as well.
The agency will require school districts to notify parents when an AI instructional tool is approved for use with the ability for parents to opt their child out of using it.
Any AI used in grades PreK-5 will have to undergo an additional review for approval, and no AI instructional tools can be used to meet a student’s social or emotional needs; to simulate an emotional relationship with a student or use relationship-building or anthropomorphic design features to encourage a student to interact with the AI.
The state Senate attempted to pass an AI Bill of Rights this year, which would have put some restrictions on tech companies and how minors can use them, but the legislation didn’t address the use of AI in schools, colleges or universities. The measure failed after the House blocked multiple attempts to get it to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk.
It was one of DeSantis’ main priorities this year – when the measure wasn’t passed during the regular legislative session, DeSantis then called a special session to bring the measure back to the floor. But House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, maintained his stance of deferring the issue to the federal government and never brought up the bill.
The proposal called in part for establishing parents' rights to control children’s interactions with AI chatbots, prohibiting state agencies from contracting with AI firms tied to a “foreign country of concern,” and setting rules about the unauthorized use of people’s names, images or likenesses.
Florida is also involved in a civil lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, claiming its ChatGPT product aided acts of violence.
Attorney General James Uthmeier, in announcing the suit, cited several incidents around the country where the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT allegedly helped users commit murders, mass shootings and suicides. The lawsuit claims OpenAI was negligent, engaged in unfair trade practices, and violated public nuisance and product liability laws.
In the suit, Uthmeier cited the April 17, 2025 shooting at Florida State University, which left two dead and five wounded. Law enforcement officials say the alleged shooter consulted with ChatGPT on weapons, ammunition and the ideal campus setting to kill as many people as possible.