White House Unveils National AI Legislative Framework

On March 20, the White House released a national policy framework for artificial intelligence (AI), which outlines legislative recommendations from the Trump administration for regulating AI.^Footnote1 The document follows Executive Order (EO) 14365, "Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence," issued in December 2025, which directs the preparation of a federal regulatory framework proposal and the evaluation of existing state AI laws.^Footnote2

The framework sets out the following seven key objectives seeking to limit unnecessary regulation, advance AI innovation and growth, and preempt state law.

1. Protecting Children and Empowering Parents

The framework calls on Congress to mandate robust parental controls on AI platforms, giving parents authority over their children's privacy settings, screen time, content exposure, and account controls. The framework also asks Congress to establish age-assurance requirements, such as parental attestation, for AI platforms likely accessed by minors and mandate that platforms implement safety features to reduce risks of sexual exploitation and self-harm. Additionally, the proposal recommends that Congress affirm that existing child privacy protections apply to AI systems and avoid preempting states from enforcing their own child protection laws.

2. Safeguarding and Strengthening American Communities

The framework seeks to balance AI infrastructure development with consumer concerns over rising electricity costs. It calls on Congress to codify the Ratepayer Protection Pledge to ensure residential ratepayers do not absorb increased electricity costs from new AI infrastructure and to streamline federal permitting for on-site power generation at data centers.^Footnote3 It also recommends that Congress strengthen law enforcement tools to combat AI-enabled scams, fraud, and national security threats.

3. Respecting Intellectual Property Rights and Supporting Creators

While the administration asserts that training AI models on copyrighted material does not violate copyright law, the framework acknowledges that differing views exist and defers to the courts to resolve the issue. Simultaneously, the framework recommends that Congress consider licensing frameworks or collective rights systems that would enable creators and publishers to negotiate compensation from AI developers. It also recommends strengthening protections against unauthorized AI-generated replicas of individuals' voices, likenesses, and other identifiable attributes.

4. Preventing Censorship and Protecting Free Speech

The framework urges Congress to prohibit the federal government "from coercing technology providers, including AI providers, to ban, compel, or alter content based on partisan or ideological agendas." It also calls on Congress to provide a "redress" mechanism for Americans to challenge an agency action to censor expression or dictate information provided by an AI platform.

5. Enabling Innovation and Ensuring American AI Dominance

The framework directs Congress to remove unnecessary regulatory barriers and accelerate AI deployment across sectors. Key recommendations include establishing regulatory sandboxes for AI applications (which would provide less restrictive environments to facilitate the development of AI innovations), supporting sector-specific AI development through existing federal agencies and industry standards, and making federal datasets available in AI-ready formats for industry and academic model training. The framework also explicitly opposes the creation of a dedicated federal AI regulatory body.

6. Educating Americans and Developing an AI-Ready Workforce

The framework highlights the need for greater investment in AI-integrated education and workforce development. It calls on Congress to incorporate AI skills training into education and workforce programs and to expand federal efforts to study trends in AI's task-level impact on the workforce.

7. Establishing a Federal Policy Framework, Preempting Cumbersome State AI Laws

Consistent with EO 14365, the framework urges Congress to preempt all state AI laws that impose undue burdens on AI development and innovation. The administration argues that a uniform national standard would strengthen U.S. competitiveness and prevent a patchwork of state regulations that would be difficult for companies to navigate. Under the proposal, states would retain authority to enforce general laws against AI developers and users (e.g., child protection, fraud prevention, and consumer protection), regulate the zoning and siting of AI infrastructure, and govern their own AI usage. However, under the framework, Congress would preempt state laws that regulate AI development, restrict lawful AI use by individuals, or impose liability on AI developers for third-party misuse of their models.

Next Steps

The White House plans to work with Congress to translate these objectives into legislation over the coming months. Provisions with bipartisan appeal, including those related to child safety and workforce development, may move faster than those facing partisan divides, such as federal preemption of state laws. However, there is no guarantee that Congress will pass any legislation based on this framework anytime soon, especially given the midterm elections this year.

EDUCAUSE will continue to monitor relevant federal and state activity concerning AI transparency, safety, and regulatory coordination and will provide updates to members as additional legislative developments emerge.

Notes

1. The White House, A National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence: Legislative Recommendations, March 20, 2026.Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.↩
2. Executive Order No. 14365, "Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence," Federal Register 90, no. 239 (December 16, 2025): 58499. Jump back to footnote 2 in the text.↩
3. "Ratepayer Protection Pledge," The White House, press release, March 4, 2026.Jump back to footnote 3 in the text.↩

Bailey Graves is Senior Associate at Ulman Public Policy.