Playlab Launched North Carolina AI Education Cohort
The initiative partners with school districts to help educators and students build custom artificial intelligence tools.
Updated on Oct. 7, 2026 in Administration
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Playlab has established an inaugural cohort of eight school districts and one charter school in North Carolina to develop AI tools. The program aims to give educators and students the agency to create their own technology for classroom use.
Why it matters
By moving beyond passive consumption of AI, the program allows schools to design custom tools tailored to their specific needs. This shift empowers the local educational community to maintain control over how technology is integrated into learning.
The cohort includes eight districts and one charter school supported by The Leon Levine Foundation. Nationally, over 100,000 educators have already utilized the platform to build applications across 200 partner organizations.
The players
Playlab
This organization provides a platform for designing and building FERPA- and COPPA-compliant custom AI tools for educational settings.
The Leon Levine Foundation
This foundation provides the financial funding required to support the inaugural school district cohort in North Carolina.
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
This state agency serves as the primary governing body for public schools and hosted the program launch event in Raleigh.
The details
Participants in the North Carolina program use Playlab to design tools by drafting custom instructions and uploading reference materials. The platform requires users to write system prompts that define the specific operational parameters and outputs for their AI applications.
Timeline
Participants attended the launch event at the Department of Public Instruction in late September 2026.
The districts will partner with Playlab throughout the 2026-2027 school year.
Roadmap
This program aligns with the growing trend of integrating compliant artificial intelligence into state-level educational infrastructures. It follows strict federal precedents like the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to ensure data security remains a core component of the tech design process.
Educators and students in the participating districts will gain hands-on experience building custom AI tools for their specific curriculum needs. This shift replaces the use of generic, off-the-shelf software with tailored solutions developed directly by those working in local classrooms.
The takeaway
Developing AI tools internally allows school districts to align technology with local pedagogical goals rather than relying on external vendors. Educators should focus on drafting clear system prompts to ensure their custom applications remain functional and safe for students.
What happens next
The partner school districts are scheduled to continue their development work with the Playlab platform throughout the remainder of the 2026-2027 school year.
Further reading
For more information on state educational initiatives, visit the North Carolina Administration section.
More information
To learn more about the program or get involved, visit the Playlab North Carolina interest form.
Source note: This article includes information reported by EdNC.
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