As artificial intelligence is increasingly being incorporated into students’ everyday lives outside of the classroom, we must ensure that they should not replace qualified experts responsible for providing mental and behavioral health care to students. Automated systems can generate inaccurate or unsafe advice, lack professional judgment, and cannot properly recognize or respond to a student in crisis. Pennsylvania students deserve access to qualified school counselors, psychologists, and social workers, not automated systems attempting to replicate their care.
 
In order to address our critical gap in AI in education, the House Education Committee will be considering a package of bills intended to establish necessary guardrails for AI use and provide educators with meaningful resources and guidance on this technology. My legislation would prohibit schools from using AI to provide mental or behavioral health services that would otherwise be performed by qualified mental health professionals. However, my legislation would not prohibit these mental health professionals from using AI for routine administrative functions like scheduling, organizing records, and managing files.
 
When a student is struggling, they should be able to rely on trusted adults at school. Technology should support, not substitute, those human relationships at the heart of student mental health care. Please consider joining me in co-sponsoring this legislation to ensure that technology remains a tool for educators and mental health professionals rather than a replacement for the people our students depend on.