By Kacy Lee | Capital News Service
RICHMOND, Va. — Lawmakers want to strengthen internet safety education in public schools with the addition of artificial intelligence risk management.
Del. Alex Askew, D-Virginia Beach, introduced House Bill 171, which would update the current internet use policy to include instruction on online scams, misinformation and content generated by artificial intelligence.
Current policy restricts the distribution or viewing of illegal content online and broadly requires the inclusion of “a component on Internet safety for students that is integrated in a division’s instructional program.”
Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order 30 in 2024, which included guidelines for AI integration in education, to equip students with the skills needed to harness AI responsibly and effectively.
Askew stated that while the current Virginia law covers basic requirements for instruction on internet safety in Virginia schools, students frequently encounter AI scams and cyberbullying incidents.
“With these emerging threats, we need to continue to teach our kids to be safe online from harm and the more specific these algorithms get, the more potential harm they can face,” Askew said.
Representatives from the Virginia PTA and the Virginia Education Association testified in support of the bill at the K-12 subcommittee meeting. They emphasized the importance of staying informed about online threats targeted at students.
VEA lobbyist Meg Gruber, the organization’s former president, spoke to the importance of the bill ensuring students are able to recognize AI-generated content, and discouraging extended use of AI in academic settings.
“It’s getting to the point that unless you take the time to really do some deep dives, you can’t, no matter whether you trust the person who shared it or not, you can’t necessarily trust that it’s accurate, that it isn’t AI generated,” Gruber said.
Gruber also said students often do not know how to tell if a video or clip is AI-generated, and need the education to help them differentiate between content.
Bill advocates are concerned with how the applications can affect adolescent mental development as they become more prevalent.
Meghan Puglia, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Virginia, said that an important part of a child’s learning process involves allowing them to “figure things out on their own.”
“We have to have a moderate amount of hardship and challenge to overcome in order to actually learn,” Puglia said. “So when AI takes that away, there’s a big concern for, you know, how does that impact cognitive development, learning, creativity, certainly.”
Puglia expressed support for educating students as early as possible about AI-generated content, noting that age-appropriate conversations regarding technology use are always helpful.
The measure passed in the House with bipartisan support and has since been referred to the Senate Education and Health Committee for further deliberation.
Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Communication. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.
