Anaheim Union educators receiving their award at the Student & Community Voice AI Summit held at the Anaheim Hilton from March 19 to 21. 
Capistrano Unified educators receiving their award at the Student & Community Voice AI Summit held at the Anaheim Hilton from March 19 to 21. 
La Habra City educators receiving their award at the Student & Community Voice AI Summit held at the Anaheim Hilton from March 19 to 21. 
Irvine Unified educators receiving their award at the Student & Community Voice AI Summit held at the Anaheim Hilton from March 19 to 21.
Quick look: Four Orange County school districts were honored at the inaugural AI K–12 Student Agency Awards — a national recognition program that spotlights innovative districts that base their AI implementation strategies on student input.
With California widely recognized as the birthplace of modern artificial intelligence, schools across the state may face added pressure to lead in developing effective AI literacy models. At this year’s Student and Community Voice AI Summit, Orange County districts showed they are doing just that.
On March 20, four Orange County school districts were honored with the inaugural AI K–12 Student Agency Awards, presented by the UCI School of Education, Inflexion and Youth Engage. The national recognition program highlighted 12 districts that have integrated AI into classrooms while prioritizing student voice in decision-making.
As the honorees demonstrated, there is no single approach to implementing AI in education.
The Anaheim Union High School District has centered its efforts on student voice and community access. At the end of 2025, the district completed its Student AI Framework in collaboration with student interns who served as co-authors. Students also help shape how AI is used across the district through an AI Workgroup, making suggestions throughout the year.
In the classroom, AI is introduced through career technical education pathways, beginning in junior high and continuing into high school programs focused on areas such as cybersecurity and engineering. The district has also hosted multilingual AI town halls to engage families and gather community input.
In the Capistrano Unified School District, AI is framed as a thought partner rather than a shortcut. The district’s AI Institute supported this approach by equipping 200 teachers with teaching strategies that help students think critically when using AI. Before finalizing its AI guidelines, the district organized a task force of students, parents and board members to help shape its direction.
The Irvine Unified School District is similarly seeking out its students to determine how to implement AI in its classrooms and curriculum. With more than 40 student focus group classrooms providing feedback, IUSD and the AI Pioneers Community of Practice — a teacher think-tank — are identifying what truly impacts student learning and sharing those practices so they can be utilized district wide.
The La Habra City School District is integrating AI at an early age, serving students in grades TK–8 through hands-on learning experiences. Students actively engage with AI tools by training models and using platforms such as Google’s Teachable Machine, Adobe Express and Canva as part of their coursework.
Here is the full list of award recipients.
Anaheim Union High School District
Anaheim, CA | ~26,000 students
Cajon Valley Union School District
El Cajon, CA | ~17,000 students
Capistrano Unified School District
San Juan Capistrano, CA | ~40,000 students
DREAM Charter Schools
New York, NY | ~2,500 students
El Segundo Unified School District
El Segundo, CA | ~3,500 students
Irvine Unified School District
Irvine, CA | Grades 4–12
La Habra City School District
La Habra, CA | ~4,200 students
Lynwood Unified School District
Lynwood, CA | Grades 6–12
Oak Grove School District 68
Green Oaks, IL | ~900 students
Sequoia Union High School District (dTech)
Redwood City, CA | ~550–600 students
Val Verde Unified School District
Perris, CA | ~18,500 students
Washington Leadership Academy
Washington, DC | ~400 students