FutureLearningAI Education Radar
Te tirohanga o Aotearoa

Weekly edition

Platforms push in, regulators push back

18 June to 2 July 2026

The fortnight to 2 July was defined by a widening gap. Microsoft and Google shipped deeper AI integration for classrooms, while Norway and Los Angeles moved to restrict it for younger learners, and new evidence showed AI feedback shifts when it knows a student's race or gender. For Aotearoa, the question is not whether these tools arrive, but whether our guidance-led approach keeps equity at the centre.

Ngā tohu | Signals this week

  1. AI is being embedded directly into teacher workflows: Microsoft and Google both shipped major education updates this fortnight, with adoption running ahead of professional support.
  2. Regulators overseas are drawing lines for younger learners: Norway restricted AI in elementary schools and Los Angeles tightened screen-time rules, a sharper stance than New Zealand's guidance-led approach.
  3. Evidence of bias is mounting: a major study found AI changes its feedback on student writing when it knows the student's race or gender.
  4. At home, ERO's report on AI in schools is imminent, and a senior secondary AI curriculum is scheduled to become mandatory between 2028 and 2030.

Platform moves

Microsoft24 June 2026

Microsoft's new AI in Education Report highlights widespread adoption and increasing demand for support

Microsoft's 2026 AI in Education Report finds AI use is now mainstream across schools and universities, with educators and students both reporting heavy uptake and demand for training outstripping supply. Alongside the report, Microsoft announced new AI tools aimed directly at teacher workflows.

He aha te take? Why it matters for AotearoaAdoption in Aotearoa is following the same curve, but support is not. The Principals' Federation has been calling for a firmer national strategy while teachers report they are thirsting for knowledge. For school leaders this report is useful evidence when prioritising PLD budgets: the tools will arrive with or without a plan, and the gap is not enthusiasm, it is structured support.
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Google25 June 2026

Building AI tailored for education, with educators in the lead

At ISTE 2026 Google announced a wave of education updates framed as educator-led: new Gemini classroom features, expanded teacher controls, and new AI literacy resources.

He aha te take? Why it matters for AotearoaEducator-led is the right rhetoric, and the practical test for NZ schools is data. Any feature that touches student information needs to line up with the Privacy Commissioner's IPP3A guidance on transparent collection, and with your obligations to whānau. Worth checking what lands in your Google Workspace for Education tenancy before new features are switched on by default.
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Policy and regulation

Engadget19 June 2026

Norway imposes broad restrictions on AI for elementary school kids

Norway has introduced broad restrictions on AI use for elementary-age students, one of the strongest national positions yet on shielding younger learners while the evidence base matures.

He aha te take? Why it matters for AotearoaNew Zealand has taken the opposite path: guidance rather than restriction, with decisions left to individual schools. NZCER's survey work shows more than half of ākonga already use generative AI and most cannot recall any adult guidance on how. Norway's move is a useful prompt for primary school leaders: if the rules are yours to set, what is your considered position for Years 1 to 6?
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LAist23 June 2026

New LAUSD screen time rules: no devices for youngest students, no YouTube for older grades

Los Angeles Unified, the second-largest school district in the United States, approved sweeping screen-time rules: no personal devices for its youngest students and platform restrictions, including YouTube, for older year levels.

He aha te take? Why it matters for AotearoaNZ schools already run phones away for the day, but LAUSD goes further by regulating school-provided devices and platforms. As AI features are baked into everything from search to YouTube, screen-time policy and AI policy are converging. Boards reviewing digital device policies this year should treat them as one conversation, not two.
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Research and evidence

Education Week18 June 2026

AI changes its feedback on students' writing when it knows their race and gender

New research finds that leading AI models give measurably different feedback on identical student writing when told the student's race or gender, raising hard questions for the growing market of AI feedback and marking tools.

He aha te take? Why it matters for AotearoaThis is the fortnight's most important story for Aotearoa. Bias that shifts feedback by demographic group cuts directly against Te Tiriti commitments and the system's obligations to Māori and Pacific learners. Schools trialling AI feedback tools for writing should moderate samples against teacher judgement across their full learner profile, and ask vendors directly what bias testing they have done.
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Aotearoa spotlight

Education Gazette24 April 2026

The Day of AI: a teacher's drive for responsible AI literacy in New Zealand schools

Susana Tomaz of Westlake Girls' High School led the Day of AI Aotearoa pilot across nine schools, adapting MIT's AI literacy resources with te ao Māori values. Student confidence in explaining AI jumped from a range of 20 to 50 percent up to 64 to 82 percent, and 93 percent of students learned that AI can make mistakes or be unfair.

He aha te take? Why it matters for AotearoaThe pilot shows culturally responsive AI literacy is deliverable now, free, in Aotearoa classrooms, and the Day of AI Aotearoa resources are hosted through the AiEdCoP community. Susana's line is the one to take to your staffroom: AI literacy has become an equity issue.
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Published earlier this year; featured because it speaks directly to this fortnight's equity signal.

What to do with this

School leadersCheck your assessment authenticity policy covers AI. Ministry guidance is clear: design out misuse rather than trying to detect it, and remember generative AI remains banned in external NCEA assessment.
KaiakoTreat AI feedback tools with the same critical eye as any resource. The evidence this fortnight shows they can respond differently to different learners, so moderate AI feedback against your own judgement.
RTLB and learning supportAI literacy is an equity issue. Over half of ākonga already use generative AI, most without adult guidance, and access differs sharply between communities.
Boards and whānauIf your school is adopting AI tools that touch student data, ask how they meet the Privacy Commissioner's IPP3A guidance on being transparent about what is collected and why.

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On the radar at home

ERO report on AI in schools Draft circulated for sector feedback in late June 2026. AiEdCoP members formed the focus group. Publication expected soon.
Senior secondary AI curriculum Year 11 to 13 AI content is scheduled to become mandatory between 2028 and 2030. Consultation timeline to watch.
Ministry guidance on generative AI The operative guidance on assessment authenticity: design not detection, and generative AI remains banned in external NCEA assessment.
Privacy Commissioner IPP3A guidance Final guidance (December 2025) is now the operative document for any tool collecting student information indirectly.