Microsoft published the third edition of its AI in Education Report on June 24, with figures that quietly settle a debate. 92% of students and education leaders, and 88% of educators, have already used AI for school-related work. 58% of leaders say their schools are implementing or scaling AI, and a majority of all three groups — 78% of leaders, 76% of educators, 65% of students — report their school-related AI use has risen over the past year. The argument 'will AI come to school' has been answered. It is in the building.
The harder finding is the training gap. 77% of students and 53% of educators say they have received no formal AI training. 66% of educators and 52% of students want training at least monthly or quarterly, and 87% of educators and leaders say responsible AI use matters for students' futures. So adoption is at ceiling and pedagogy is at floor — a familiar shape from prior tech transitions (calculators, the internet, smartphones) but compressed into 24 months instead of a decade. Microsoft used the report to announce free additions to Microsoft 365 Education: AI-assisted Unit Plans in Teach, Student AI Guidelines and Learning Groups in Assignments, Learning Zone classroom experiences, Copilot Notebooks, and a Study and Learn Agent.
The report lands inside a churning state-policy environment for AI in schools. California sent a ban on AI public-school teachers to Governor Newsom this week. Rhode Island signed a chatbot-therapy ban into law. Six weeks into the 2026 legislative season, the Transparency Coalition counted 78 active chatbot bills across 27 states. School districts are buying tools faster than their state legislators can decide whether and how to allow them. That is the policy vacuum Microsoft's free curriculum is moving to fill, and also the vacuum the AESOP AI Academy reads daily for course updates.
A takeaway for learners — and for the teachers and parents reading this — the gap between adoption and instruction is the most actionable opportunity in AI education today. If you are a teacher: AI literacy curriculum that fits a 30-minute block has more leverage than any single model release. If you are a student: ask your school what its AI policy actually says, and if there isn't one, treat that as a signal that the policy you build for yourself will define how you use these tools for the next decade.