Dr. Janice Jackson argues for youth-centered policy on technology in schools: ban phones in classrooms, require evidence for edtech, teach digital literacy, and use AI to narrow opportunity gaps rather than widen them.
Put young people at the center of conversations about schooling—Aspen’s Rising Generations Strategy Group begins with student provocations and joint AI risk-opportunity exercises.
State policy and trust in institutions matter: Illinois’ new AI legislation and resources like the Edelman Trust Barometer, Bellwether’s framework, Digital Promise, and ISTE provide entry points for guardrails.
# What this conversation is about
# Phones, edtech, and equity
# Youth-centered policy design
Aspen's Rising Generations Strategy Group is cross-sector, cross-partisan, and intergenerational. Jackson emphasizes starting with young people. At Aspen's first convening, students opened the conversation with four provocations and took part in an "AI Futures" exercise that weighed risks and opportunities together. That kind of participatory design puts students beyond passive input—into shaping the questions and priorities.
# From hype to accountability
Jackson calls for the edtech industry to prove efficacy. Technology that augments learning should be held accountable: show measurable learning outcomes, explain how tools narrow rather than widen gaps, and make help-seeking transparent and ethical. She recommends digital literacy over prohibition so students learn how to use tools responsibly and effectively.
# Policy levers and trust
Hope Chicago's practical lesson: normalizing help-seeking changes outcomes. When the aim is to level the playing field, technology that provides tutoring, feedback, or scaffolded practice can be an equalizer. The question for schools and districts is not whether technology should exist, but how to ensure it supports authentic learning and access.
# Practical implications for educators and policymakers
# Where this conversation connects to other resources
The episode references frameworks and organizations practitioners can consult: Aspen Institute Education & Society Program, Rising Generations Strategy Group, Hope Chicago, Bellwether's responsible AI framework, Digital Promise, ISTE, and the Edelman Trust Barometer. These are entry points for districts and state policymakers developing rules on AI and classroom technology.
# Bottom line
Dr. Janice Jackson urges a balanced approach: remove the classroom distractions phones create, but hold educational technology and AI to standards of evidence and equity. Put young people at the center of policy design, teach digital literacy, and use state-level policy and sector frameworks to create accountable, trustable guardrails.
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