Nebraska lawmakers and educators wrestle with AI’s growing influence

Joy Farr

McCook Gazette

McCOOK, Neb. — As questions, concerns, and discussions about Ai are more prevalent than ever, both the Unicameral and Nebraska Educational Technology Association (NETA)have engaged in real conversations and enacted policies to push back on what to many feels like an unstoppable force. On April 14th, Nebraska’s legislators passed LB 525, which aims to protect minors from the very real threats associated with Ai chatbots, and from April 30-May 1, Nebraska educators gathered at the annual NETA conference to grapple with Ai’s place in our schools.

Ai is becoming ubiquitous, but that doesn’t make it safe. Lawmakers all around the country are considering implementing laws and regulations to protect children from a powerful, risky, and mostly unregulated technology that is easily accessed by anyone with access to the internet. Big tech companies have introduced Ai chatbots to the general public with very few guardrails in hopes of generating interaction and, ultimately, income. Understanding some of the pitfalls of Ai chatbots, LB 525 was introduced by Sen. Mike Jacobsen of North Platte, at the request of the Governor, to establish guidelines for how AI chatbots may operate in Nebraska.

Under this new law, AI chatbot operators must disclose to minors that they are interacting with AI rather than a human. Additionally, AI chatbot operators must institute measures to prevent the AI service from producing sexually explicit content and statements that simulate romantic or sexual innuendos.

Additionally, AI chatbot operators must adopt a protocol to respond to user prompts regarding suicidal thoughts or self-harm that includes referring them to crisis service providers, such as a suicide hotline.

The guardrails should help safeguard against intelligence that is designed with engagement being priority number one, but they are also appealing to school aged children who are easily lured in with friendly bots that make completing school work effortless- literally.

Educators have been grappling with the best way to combat a growing dependence on Ai among students. The fear is that students aren’t doing their own work, solving their own math problems on homework assignments, or writing their own papers. The ease of using ChatGPT or Gemini or Photomath to do the work for them, has proven irresistible for many students, and teachers are struggling to stop it.

It’s not surprising that Ai took center stage at NETA this weekend. NETA is not a new association; teachers, librarians, school administrators, and school tech professionals have been meeting each year to explore the newest innovations geared toward teaching and learning.

Those technologies include a myriad of skills and products from robotics and 3D printers to Esports and drones, but in 2026, Ai seemed to dominate the conversation.

With Ai looming large in national news, it’s no wonder that it would take center stage at a conference aimed at best utilizing technologies in schools. Many educators were eager to delve into the complex conversations about the appropriateness of Ai in classrooms with children.

In sessions like, “Ai- the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” and “Ai and the Art of Teaching Writing to Humans” teachers consistently asked, “Just because we can, does it mean we should?” The ethical implications of teaching students to use Ai tools, specifically chatbots like ChatGPT, felt risky to many in attendance.

While the Keynote Speaker, George Couros, encouraged teachers to embrace the change and grow with the technology, the prevailing attitude seemed to be one of caution. “New technology is always a little scary, but the people who find the most success in times of change are the ones who throw caution to the wind and fully embrace them.” Couros said. However, going all-in with Ai feels more dangerous and consequential than switching from horse and buggy to automobiles.

Many teachers have admitted to using Ai in both their professional and private lives, but they are still skeptical about handing the technology to kids. “What we’re struggling with is the generational differences,” one secondary teacher reflected, “Every one of us in attendance grew up learning in a traditional sense, gaining and building on a foundation of concrete knowledge and experience that allows us to be more discerning- if we just let kids jump straight to Ai, they won’t have those same tools to figure out what is legitimate and what is slop.”

Ai companies are certainly trying to lessen fears, and companies like Google have chatbots that are designed to be safer for students as the information going in stays within the closed system and isn’t used to train the larger Ai models. That being said, most of the tips and tools offered were monitored, regulated, and intended to be used as supports not alternatives to traditional education.

Teachers in Nebraska still believe in the process of learning. “We want to teach our students to figure things out, problem solve, and think for themselves. We don’t need to teach them how to use Ai; if anything, we need to help them be more skeptical of it.”

As presenter Adam Sparks said, “We’re not going to be able to stop them from using it, but with clear communication and expectations, we can help guide our students to better practices.” Ai isn’t going anywhere; it is already reshaping our relationship with technology, but with common sense laws and regulations, we’re not surrendering our humanity just yet.