Lawmakers voice concerns over use of Amira AI in public schools

New Mexico lawmakers recently voiced concerns over transparency and data safety with the use of AI in public schools as 18 local districts and charter schools opt out of the program.

A bipartisan group of 35 state lawmakers sent a letter to Public Education Department Secretary Mariana Padilla last week raising concerns with the use of the AI program Amira ISIP  in public schools to test and track K-2 students’ literacy skills and screen for early reading difficulties. Use of the program is required by the PED, but local districts have the choice to opt out and use a different testing method.

The AI program has drawn criticism in districts throughout the state for recording and storing students’ voices and personal information and a lack of transparency. In the letter sent to the PED, lawmakers asked the department to do more to inform parents of the use of the program and how their children’s sensitive information is being used, and require parental consent in the future.

“Amira has already collected thousands of voice recordings from New Mexico students, while many parents remained completely unaware,” the letter reads. “The unfortunate reality is that once children’s voices and other real-world data are used to train the model and influence its future output, the system’s behavior and performance can change, a process often referred to as model drift.”

The letter noted that it is not currently clear what further testing is being done on the Amira ISIP program to ensure its accuracy and “behavior” does not change once student data is collected, as well as what is being done to protect sensitive personal information.

“Building stronger AI governance and guardrails is a top priority for the legislature, but until those laws are in place, we must lead with transparency when deploying new technology, especially when children are involved,” the letter states. “Outside of extenuating circumstances, parental consent should be a prerequisite before any data is collected from New Mexico students.”

PED spokesperson Janelle Taylor García told Source NM in an email that the PED has reached out to lawmakers and plans to meet this week to discuss concerns and suggestions regarding the AI program. She added that the PED “welcomes support from the Legislature in creating clear safeguards, strong accountability measures, and transparent communication with families.” 

“It is important to distinguish among different types and uses of AI,” Taylor García wrote in an email to Source NM. “Amira Asses is not an open or generative AI system, chatbot, or large language model. It is a purpose-specific reading assessment that evaluates aspects of student reading performance. The system does not independently converse with students, generate content or make instructional decisions.”

She added that the PED has safeguards in place, but also recently expanded options for local districts to delete student voice recordings daily, weekly, at the end of the school year or not save voice recordings at all. There is also a paper-based version of the assessment available, she said.  

As of Sept. 1, 18 of New Mexico’s 89 local school districts and 100 charter schools have opted to use alternative literacy assessments, including Santa Fe Public Schools, Farmington Municipal Schools and Roswell Independent School District. 

Taylor García told Source NM that the PED is accepting proposals for literacy and mathematics assessment programs for future use in public schools and charters. 

“The process will allow PED to evaluate available assessment and screening options based on factors such as technical quality, instructional usefulness, student data privacy and security, and the needs of New Mexico schools and students.”