On October 8, 2026, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) announced Tribal consultation on two proposed policies: the Personal Wireless Devices & Digital Wellness Policy and the K-12 Student Artificial Intelligence (AI) Acceptable Use Policy. Both would be mandatory for Bureau-operated schools but would serve as model policies for Tribally Controlled Schools, whose School Boards may adopt, adapt, or reject them.
Personal wireless devices. The proposed Device Policy generally prohibits students from using personal phones, smartwatches, laptops, and other wireless devices during the school day and requires most devices to be powered off and stored out of sight. It includes exceptions for medical monitoring and accommodations under Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or Section 504 plans, with limited teacher-approved use allowed for cultural activities. The policy also establishes separate rules for residential programs and a graduated response to violations, which alone would not justify suspension or expulsion.
Student artificial intelligence. The proposed AI Policy would require teachers to designate one of five levels of permitted AI use for major assignments, ranging from no AI to AI-generated work that students must critique. Assignments would default to no AI unless a teacher expressly permits its use. The policy addresses misuse, age-based privacy protections, and parental opt-outs. BIE’s accompanying consultation materials describe restrictions on entering student personally identifiable information and protected Tribal cultural knowledge into public AI tools, however, these provisions do not appear expressly in the posted draft policy.
Consultation and comments. BIE will hold a virtual Tribal consultation on November 9, 2026, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Registration is available here. Written comments are due December 9, 2026, and may be submitted to consultationcomments@bie.edu.
Please let us know if you would like assistance in preparing comments on either proposed policy.
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Inquiries may be directed to:
John Killingback (jkillingback@hobbsstraus.com)
Autumn Parrott (aparrott@hobbsstraus.com)
