Survey Highlights the Readiness, Realities and the Road Ahead for AI Usage in K-12 Education

 

Washington, D.C. (September 23, 2025) – CoSN today published a survey addressing Artificial Intelligence (AI) use in operational areas of education, such as HR, finance, facilities and transportation. Most reports on AI usage in K-12 tend to focus on strategies to leverage AI for teaching and learning, students’ and teachers’ academic readiness to effectively use AI, or the challenges AI poses in evaluating students’ homework, but this survey takes a different approach.

Operational AI in Education: A CoSN 2025 Member Survey is a 15-question survey conducted from June 19 to July 18, 2025. It gathered insights from 281 CoSN members on how they are using AI in their districts’ network environments.

“K-12 is only at the starting line with AI in operations. This survey gives a first look at where districts stand today and the paths ahead. AI can transform how schools run — streamlining processes, saving time, and freeing educators to focus on teaching and learning,” said Keith Krueger, CEO, CoSN.

Key Findings

  • The majority (57%) of respondents are using AI in their network environments; however, the percentage of network processes currently leveraging AI technologies is extremely low, with the vast majority (72%) citing 10% or less.
  • More than three-quarters (76%) of respondents report that their district leaders are involved in setting direction for AI use in operational areas. Of those, 41% are still in the early discussion stage, and 23% have started to define their vision for AI.
  • Almost two-thirds of respondents (65%) cite security threat detection as a top use case, and 40% cite stronger cybersecurity as the top AI benefit.
  • A majority of respondents (60%) cite a lack of expertise as a major issue for implementing new automation solutions, followed by concerns about increased security risks (49%).

Respondents were asked to indicate their district’s readiness across seven integration factors. Overall, districts are in the early stages of AI implementation for their back-end systems:

  1. Operational Readiness: 52% of respondents have started to explore what operational problems AI could help solve for their districts, and 21% have targeted several use cases.
  2. Data Readiness: While 27% report that some of their data has been cleaned and shared, 61% still have dirty and/or siloed data.
  3. Technical Readiness: While 82% indicate a level of technical readiness, just 16% indicate they are “fully ready with needed tools and systems.”
  4. Security Readiness: Only 7% of respondents are fully confident that their district’s operational use of AI is aligned with cybersecurity best practices.
  5. Legal Readiness: When asked if their district had considered legal or compliance risks related to AI use in operations, the most common response (43%) was that there was some awareness of the issues.
  6. Academic AI Literacy Readiness: Only 10% of respondents consider themselves well prepared and provided with ongoing AI literacy support.
  7. IT AI Literacy Readiness: Respondents who considered their IT workforce completely unprepared comprise 15%, nearly double the 8% who identified as well prepared.

Overall, districts are in the early stages of using AI for network operations. While most districts have implemented operational AI to some degree, they have done so only to a limited extent. Given EdTech leaders’ already-full plates and the rapidly evolving capabilities of AI, closing the K-12 AI skills gap will remain an ongoing challenge. When looking at district’s AI maturity, district readiness across all integration factors is generally in the emerging stages. Until districts can address these readiness gaps, the potential of AI to streamline operations will remain largely unrealized.

To read the full Operational AI in Education: A CoSN 2025 Member Survey, visit: https://www.cosn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2025-HPE-Report_F2.pdf

An associated webinar (free to all) will be held on September 25, 2025, from 2-3 pm ET, and will cover key findings from the survey. To register, visit: https://www.cosn.org/event/ai-automation-and-the-future-of-k-12-networks-insights-from-cosns-latest-survey-webinar-free-for-all/

About CoSN
CoSN, the world-class professional association for K-12 EdTech leaders, stands at the forefront of education innovation. We are driven by a mission to equip current and aspiring K-12 education technology leaders, their teams, and school districts with the community, knowledge, and professional development they need to cultivate engaging learning environments. Our vision is rooted in a future where every learner reaches their unique potential, guided by our community. CoSN represents over 13 million students and continues to grow as a powerful and influential voice in K-12 education. cosn.org

MEDIA CONTACT:
Grace Helsing, ghelsing@fratelli.com