2026 Tennessee Educator Survey Snapshot: Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Schools- Awareness & Usage

The 2026 Tennessee Educator Survey Snapshots offer quick, accessible insights from educators on some of the most important issues in our schools—including artificial intelligence, cell phone policies, student discipline, match curriculum and supports, career and technical education, early career teachers, teacher evaluation and retention, and more. These one-pagers highlight what teachers are seeing and experiencing right now, providing valuable perspective to inform conversations about policy and practice across the state.

• Key Insight #1: In 2026, about three-quarters of teachers and nearly 9 in 10 administrators said they were at least somewhat familiar with their district’s AI policy.
• Key Insight #2: There have been substantial increases in teacher and administrator use of AI tools in the past year.
• Key Insight #3: Teachers who said they used AI tools in their teaching reported more frequent use of chatbots in 2026 compared to 2025, with over 1 in 4 saying they used chatbots more than 20 times.