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Teachers now believe that AI will have a greater impact on education than the internet or computers.

Nearly three-quarters say AI carries bigger implications for K12 education than any previous technological shift, compared to just 10% who view it as no different from what came before, according to a new of more than 500 K12 teachers.

The survey also found that 55% of teachers view AI as a shortcut that lets students avoid meaningful work. More than half of K12 teachers say AI prevents students from developing critical thinking skills, and only one in three says their school has a formal policy governing the use of the technology.

The results carry a clear warning for district leaders who have not established AI rules and guidelines.

Teachers remain hesitant about AI for instruction

The damage teachers see goes beyond academics. Nearly three in five say AI is eroding trust between themselves and their students, and a similar share believe it is harder to know. Those perceptions are shaping classroom behavior: about two in five teachers now require more work to be completed by hand or in class.

Structural problems also exist. While nearly four in five teachers agree they should cover AI literacy, more than half say their schools have not offered guidance or the guidance is unclear. Just 23% say their district has a formal policy covering teacher use of AI.

Teachers themselves are using AI, with 62% reporting they turn to it for work-related tasks. Among that group, most say it has improved their productivity. But the use is concentrated in administrative work, not instruction. While 54% use AI at least weekly for lesson planning or administrative tasks, only 23% say the same for actual classroom use.

The poll’s findings arrive as districts are navigating sharply different approaches to AI governance. 91��Ƭ recently reported on how the most AI-advanced districts share a common trait: they use AI to strengthen an existing instructional vision rather than chase the technology for its own sake. That discipline is exactly what the NPR/Ipsos data suggests is missing in some schools.

Meanwhile, research on the AI adoption gap shows that students have already moved well ahead of school policy, and vague or absent guidelines leave teachers to improvise. One district that found a different path is New York’s Pocantico Hills Central School District, which put students at the center of its AI governance process rather than issuing top-down mandates.

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District 91��Ƭistration uses artificial intelligence to support research and drafting, with all content reviewed and verified by the author.