The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), United Federation of Teachers (UFT), and Microsoft announced on Sept. 9 a national standard designed to give U.S. school districts enforceable artificial intelligence (AI) safety and data privacy protections for students, families, and educators.

Salesforce announced $27 million in new education grants on Sept. 14, including $18 million for public school districts in five cities to support student career readiness, teacher development, and artificial intelligence (AI) education.

The University of North Texas (UNT) received a $20 million gift to expand its artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics programs, including student scholarships, research, faculty support, and emerging technology initiatives, the university announced Sept. 8.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger appointed Andrea Fletcher to lead the new Virginia Digital Service, a team tasked with modernizing state technology, improving digital services, and strengthening oversight of IT investments.

Indiana named John Stark its chief privacy officer. Stark is also the state’s director of digital governance, a role he has held since August.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills into law on Sept. 9 that establish artificial intelligence (AI) safeguards. According to the governor’s office, the bills create a framework for independent third-party evaluation and audits of AI systems and establish a foundation for greater transparency and accountability as AI becomes increasingly embedded in critical sectors of California’s economy and public life.

The Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) announced on Sept. 9 that the state will adopt GovRAMP as its primary framework for authorizing and continuously monitoring third-party cloud services. The new requirement goes into effect Oct. 1.

George Mason University is partnering with Oxford, England-based quantum computing company TreQ to deploy a $7.7 million open-architecture quantum computing system in Northern Virginia, the Fairfax, Va., university announced Sept. 2.

Springfield Public Schools in Massachusetts closed for a second consecutive day on Sept. 9 as officials worked to contain a severe cyber incident that disrupted systems needed for essential school operations, including access to student medical records.

The bipartisan proposal seeks to prepare students and teachers for wider AI use while keeping critical thinking at the center of the classroom.