Edtech Equity Project Tackles Racial Bias in AI Learning Tools

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Edtech Equity Project Tackles Racial Bias in AI Learning Tools

Article Published July 23, 2025

This article originally appeared on Government Technology on July 23, 2025.

Black and brown students make up over half of U.S. K-12 students, yet many AI-driven ed-tech tools are not designed with their needs in mind, according to a yearslong project launched in 2020 by the global nonprofit Aspen Institute.

In a case study report of the Edtech Equity Project last month, Aspen Policy Academy Fellows Nidhi Hebbar and Madison Jacobs said the initiative helps schools and ed-tech companies alike confront racial bias baked into educational tools. To do this, they developed three targeted resources to combat the issue: for ed-tech companies, an AI in Education Toolkit for Racial Equity that includes criteria they should consider in their design process, and a certification seal through the nonprofit Digital Promise for companies that meet them; and for procurement leaders, a School Procurement Guide with questions for digging deeper into the equity practices of ed-tech tools before they are implemented on campus.

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