Governor-elect Byron Donalds joins Hollywood education technology conference as AI expands in Florida schools

Florida Governor-elect Byron Donalds joined education technology entrepreneurs at a conference in Hollywood, where the growing use of artificial intelligence and technology in the state's schools took center stage.

The event, organized by a group called LaunchEd, gave entrepreneurs an opportunity to showcase their 21st-century products, designed for students and teachers to use in the coming school year. The organization is testing new classroom technology and could bring the products to students across Florida.

"Like if I said to you now, 'Oh, let's talk about quantum physics, let's learn a little bit about that.' Most people go like, 'Talk about what?'" said Vibeke Faengsrud with House of Math.

Donalds appeared at the conference nearly eight weeks before he is set to take over in Tallahassee, and he said preparing students for an increasingly technology-driven world is important. "We want to make sure that our children are prepared for the future. It's going to be a bright, strong economy in Florida," said Donalds.

Jon Hage, founder of LaunchEd Group, said access to this educational technology should not depend on a student's family income or ZIP code. "Regardless of whether you have money or no money, whether you live in a poor middle class or upper class marketplace, you should have access; you should have access to the best schools in the state," he said.

The state's approach to the changing landscape comes with restrictions. The Florida Department of Education has approved new rules for how the tools can be used. School districts must notify parents when AI instructional tools will be used and give families the choice to opt their child out of the lesson. The tools must also be age-appropriate, the rules ban using technology to meet a student's social and emotional needs, and they prohibit any psychological profiling of a student.

"You have to have an adult human being in the classroom. There's no replacing the teacher," said Donalds, adding that the state is also looking at the different ways it can leverage technology.

The debate over technology in the classroom comes as public education across South Florida faces major changes of its own. "Today our school district faces a reality we cannot ignore," said Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Rafael Villalobos. "And I think the affordability and the birth rate are definitely a correlation," said Broward Schools Superintendent Dr. Howard Hepburn.

With declining enrollment and the possibility of public school closures across Broward and Miami-Dade, district officials are making adjustments ahead of the new school year. Donalds, a longtime supporter of charter schools and school choice, will inherit those challenges when he takes office in January. His wife founded a charter school management and curriculum company. Still, Donalds said traditional public schools remain the choice for many families across the state. "Parents still overwhelmingly choose traditional public schools, even though you have a subset of parents who are choosing choice for their children and that's okay," said Donalds.

The new classroom AI requirements are set to be implemented for the 2027-28 school year. As for the potential closures in South Florida school districts, more information is expected between now and the spring.