How North Carolina public schools can turn A.I. policy into A.I. Literacy
2026–27 School year HB 959 takes effect | July 2027 HB 301 A.I. policy adoption deadline | 2,000+ #WinAtSocial Huddles on modern life skills |
What does North Carolina law now require regarding A.I. policies in public schools?
Two state actions are reshaping how schools approach technology. House Bill 959, signed in 2025, requires every public school to teach social media and online safety starting in the 2026-2027 school year. House Bill 301 would go further. If signed into law, it directs the Department of Public Instruction to develop a statewide A.I. policy by the end of the year, with districts adopting that policy, or their own, by July 2027.
Wake County, the state’s largest district, is already drafting A.I. guidelines for students, teachers, and staff.
“It’s really about ongoing learning, and so students can be learning topics from when to navigate to A.I. to do something versus lean on a human for advice.”
— Laura Tierney, Founder & CEO, The Social Institute, interviewed by ABC11
Why does a positive approach beat a ban?
Students have already adopted A.I. A policy that only restricts leaves them guessing where the lines are, and it leaves teachers enforcing rules differently from one classroom to the next. A proactive approach closes that gap. It defines what responsible use looks like, equips educators with shared language, and teaches students to question and verify what A.I. produces.
How does The Social Institute make it turnkey?
The Social Institute, a North Carolina-based company, built #WinAtSocial for this moment. Schools across the state already use it to meet HB 959 and to integrate A.I. literacy community-wide with:
| Lessons co-created with students and “snicker-tested” for relevance, so they land instead of getting eye-rolls. | |
| Peer-to-peer Huddles that are 80% discussion-based, drawing in every student rather than lecturing at them. | |
| Ready-to-run educator PD that gives every teacher the same language, so no two classrooms drift apart. | |
| Family Toolkit resources that continue the learning at home and engage families in the conversation. | |
| Real-time Insights benchmarked against 1M+ student responses nationwide, giving leaders board-ready data. | |
| New lessons released year-round as A.I. tools evolve, so your content never goes stale. |
A full-time team of digital natives, researchers, and student collaborators tracks A.I. and emerging platforms so your educators don’t have to. That’s work no single school is staffed to do alone.
“Give families simple talking points and conversation starters, so that they are reinforcing the learning and policies at home.”
— Laura Tierney, Founder & CEO, The Social Institute, interviewed by ABC11
North Carolina is asking schools to prepare students for a world shaped by A.I. The Social Institute gives you the lessons, training, and family resources to do it well, together.
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