Policy analyst outlines AI policy options as lawmakers weigh Amira deployment and data governance

A policy analyst told the Legislative Education Study Committee that New Mexico currently lacks a statutory approach to artificial intelligence in K6 education and outlined options lawmakers could consider ahead of the 2027 session.

Sarai, the committee's policy analyst for data governance and career-connected learning, summarized a LAAC working-group process established by House Memorial 2, PED's nonbinding AI guidance and the statewide deployment of the Amira reading assessment for kindergarten through second grade. She said the working group identified four policy pillars: equitable access, effective implementation, student safety and data privacy, and system-wide changes to prepare students for an AI-powered future.

Sarai said Amira (referred to in the brief as Emera/Amira) was implemented statewide as a mandatory K reading assessment beginning school year 2026 and that the rollout highlighted gaps in vetting, stakeholder input and legislative oversight. "It's unclear what vetting process and stakeholder input PED used prior to implementation," she said, and lawmakers and families raised similar concerns at a recent hearing.

The brief presented policy options including moving from guidance to enforceable standards; creating a data-governance framework that could involve PED and higher-education partners; establishing procurement and student-data privacy standards; imposing specific guardrails (for example, prohibiting AI from performing mental-health functions); and integrating AI literacy into academic standards.

Representative Block asked whether AI platforms that provide counseling exist and whether prohibiting their use by law could worsen access amid staffing shortages. Sarai said products that offer those services do exist and that a statutory approach would involve trade-offs between staffing realities and the value of human relationships.

Senator Thornton asked whether AI could reshape the teacher's role to deliver individualized learning at scale. The analyst and other participants said AI offers potential efficiencies but that research on cognitive development and appropriate age of introduction is still evolving. The Brookings Institution and a cited MIT study were mentioned as raising concerns about cognitive impacts and reduced neurological activity in students who over-rely on generative AI.

Lawmakers took the presentation under advisement and discussed next steps, including whether the committee or PED should draft model district policies, consider pilot funding, or require procurement standards and tribal consultation before statewide deployments of AI tools.

The session concluded with community announcements and an adjournment until the next scheduled meeting.