New survey finds that parents are deeply concerned about the risks AI integration in schools poses to their children

New IFS data shows parents from all backgrounds are fearful of the harms AI might pose to students and divided about its potential benefits.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, UNITED STATES, November 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Parents have become more skeptical of educational technology due to the deleterious effects of online learning and digital distractions. But their perspective on the new debate surrounding AI usage in schools has hardly gotten any attention. The Institute for Family Studies survey changes the debate by presenting fresh data on what parents actually want.

Based on a survey of 2,000 parents conducted with YouGov in July and August 2026, the new IFS report, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of K-12 Education: What Do Parents Want?, breaks down parental opinion on incorporating AI into K-12 education. Authored primarily by Policy Fellow Jared Hayden, the survey indicates that most parents either want no AI usage or less AI usage in schools, regardless of political affiliation.

Here are some KEY FINDINGS from the report:

56% of parents want AI fully blocked in schools, and another 26% want less AI in schools than is currently required or allowed.
38% of parents want AI to be used in computer labs only, with the remainder of schooling focused on physical books and handwriting; and an additional 25% of parents want books and handwriting only.
73% say it will expose children to serious risks. Similar majorities of parents feel this way about other potential AI harms.
51% of K-12 say that it will prepare children for the workforce of the future. This is the most popular positive use case for AI.
75% of Republican parents support the policy to pause AI in schools, a nearly identical figure to the percentage of Democratic parents.

“Across the board, parents—of all income and education levels, and of all political affiliations— are wary of integrating AI into schools at every grade level and without restrictions. We found they are much more worried about AI-related harms to students than any of the technology’s proposed benefits.,” said Jared Hayden, co-author of the report. “If anything, they want this technology introduced much later in their children’s education and in heavily supervised and controlled environments like the computer lab of the 2000s. Administrators and school boards would do well to heed parents’ concerns.”

If schools want to be responsive to parents, the IFS survey data makes clear that pausing or limiting AI usage in K-12 education is the way to go.

“Just as teaching kids to throw curveballs too early can damage their arms, introducing AI too early in schools could undermine, rather than assist, learning,” said report co-author Ken Burchfiel.

“Parents seem largely unconvinced about the possible benefits of AI in education. That may explain why many of them prefer to limit AI to a computer lab.”

The full report and a summary can be found here.

About the authors

Jared Hayden is a Policy Fellow for the Family First Technology Initiative at the Institute for Family Studies

Ken Burchfiel is a Research Fellow for the Family First Technology Initiative at the Institute for Family Studies

Michael Toscano is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Family First Technology Initiative at the Institute for Family Studies

About IFS

The Institute for Family Studies is a non-partisan research organization dedicated to strengthening marriage and family life through evidence-based research and public education. IFStudies.org

James Lynch
Institute for Family Studies
+1 917-748-8604

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