OPINION: Some advice for president-elect Donald Trump: Invest in AI literacy across K-12 education

Donald Trump’s election for a second term marks a significant shift in American policy direction, even though education efforts were not a key focus of the 2024 election. However, Trump’s enthusiasm for artificial intelligence now presents a unique opportunity to prepare K-12 students for an increasingly tech-driven world.

AI expertise is growing in importance — from logistics and health care to manufacturing and more. The education technology industry has already witnessed firsthand how AI helps teachers and engages students in ways that make learning more personalized.

That’s why, to keep the U.S. competitive globally, investing in AI literacy across K-12 education is essential — especially for workforce preparation.

California recently took a step in this direction, with Governor Gavin Newsom signing a bill that mandates AI and media literacy as part of California’s K-12 curriculum. The bill aims to provide students with foundational AI knowledge by integrating it into math, science, history and English.

While this is a commendable step, it only focuses on building general awareness rather than developing career-specific skills. If the Trump administration genuinely wants to empower working-class Americans, they could foster real-world AI literacy by providing students with the academic, technical and real-world knowledge, skills and experience they can get via career and technical education programs — and earmarking more funding for AI-related CTE programs specifically.

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Equipping students early on with AI skills will ensure they’re better prepared for the demands of the future workforce. It will also encourage the creation of new economic opportunities, especially for those not pursuing traditional college pathways.

In his first term, Trump emphasized CTE as a pathway to career readiness by significantly increasing federal funding for CTE programs to help students gain practical, job-ready skills. As technology continues to reshape industries, “career-ready” is becoming “AI-ready.”

Imagine a CTE program that doesn’t just prioritize traditional fields like health care, but also incorporates AI literacy to equip students for success in high-tech roles. At the ed tech company I founded, I’ve witnessed firsthand the productivity gains that our engineering team attributes to AI-powered tooling; in fact, our software engineering interviews now include tests of our candidates’ ability to leverage AI in their software development process.

A strategic expansion of Trump’s previous CTE initiatives could drive necessary investments in skills necessary for future-ready careers. The competitive grants introduced in his first term encouraged states to develop innovative workforce training models aligned with market needs. In particular, these grants incentivized increased STEM integration within career and technical readiness tracks.

A similar grant program with a focus on AI in K-12 could be transformative, enabling schools to create AI labs, teach data analytics and even add machine learning to STEM classes.

This funding could make AI education accessible to all students, not just those in advanced programs, and ensure that all graduates have relevant, high-demand skills for an AI-powered workforce.

Related: Do we need a ‘Common Core’ for data science education?

Prioritizing AI literacy aligned with future-ready careers aligns with Trump’s goals of boosting economic competitiveness and strengthening American industries. Real-world AI literacy must be accessible, relevant and applied across different subjects and career tracks.

There are several programs already helping students explore AI meaningfully — for example, through chatting with historical figures, brainstorming ideas and tackling STEM projects.

This will foster critical thinking, informed decision-making and technical skills, and prepare students to engage with AI as both users and contributors who understand its impact and limitations.

Trump’s previous enthusiasm for AI shows that he thinks technology can drive innovation, economic resilience and an “America-first” agenda. However, for this vision to have a lasting impact, K-12 students need the tools to understand, leverage and shape AI sustainably.

Making AI skill development foundational across CTE will help create an inclusive, future-ready economy and develop a generation that’s ready for the challenges and opportunities of AI.

In a workforce increasingly shaped by machine learning, coding and data analytics, expanding AI education could be one of the most powerful moves the Trump administration could take. By encouraging the adoption of AI in CTE programs, Trump’s administration could leave a legacy that empowers young Americans with the skills needed for an evolving economy.

If truly championing working-class America is a primary goal, investing in the development of AI skills across career pathways would be a meaningful and strategic next step.

Arman Jaffer is the founder and CEO of Brisk Teaching, an AI-powered Chrome extension that empowers educators to speed up grading, create resources and launch their own AI tutors to students.

Contact the opinion editor at opinion@hechingerreport.org.

This story about AI literacy was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s weekly newsletter.

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