According to October 2025 research from the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), approximately 85% of teachers and 86% of students reported using AI tools in the 2024-2025 school year, with 50%of students using AI for school-related reasons. Even though AI isn’t new technology, it has developed into a tool used in everyday life.
Here is 3 ways AI has rapidly impacted education in 2025.
Negative Effects on Personal Relations
Half of students that CDT surveyed agree that using AI in class makes them feel less connected to their teacher, and seven in ten teachers worry that AI weakens important skills that students need to learn. A third of students have back-and-forth conversations with AI for personal reasons on a device, tool, or software provided by their school.Thirty-eight percent of students also agree that it is easier for them to talk to AI than their parents, meaning that students are not getting the social-emotional intellect they need from humans, and put more trust in AI than in teachers, families, or peers. This emotional disconnection can cause negative impacts on learning development, social relationships, and emotional intellect.
Uptick in Misuse of AI in Schoolwork
In 2025, 61% of educators reported instances of students cheating with AI, leading to mistrust between educators and their peers, up from 53% the previous year. AI use appears more in high school and middle school than in elementary and are used from small portions of copy and paste to whole projects and papers. Training and guidance are needed to explain how to use AI to complement, not supplant, learning as it can be used as a tool to create dynamic learning like other adoptable EdTech.
Schools Combating AI with Regulations
Since AI is such a rapidly advancing technology and has been seen being utilized for cheating, school training and policies on AI are falling behind. Over 80% of students reported that teachers did not explicitly teach them how to use AI for schoolwork. 13% of schools encourage AI use in all classes, while nearly 40% ban it outright. This patchwork of approaches leaves students with questions and uncertainty on how to approach AI without being falsely accused of cheating
In 2026, K–12 AI regulations are shifting from high-level guidance to mandatory, localized policies focusing on data privacy (COPPA/FERPA), ethical use, and human oversight. Until an official announcement, see which states have district AI policies already in place in 2025 here.
How have you seen AI affecting your classrooms? Let us know in the comments!
Resources:
https://allaccess.collegeboard.org/high-school-student-use-ai-surging-are-schools-ready
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