A State-Approved AI Endorsement for Teachers Is Coming. Here's What It Covers.
Your teachers are already using AI. The harder question is how you'd know which of them are ready to lead with it.
In Pennsylvania, there's about to be a formal answer. As the Delco Times reported, Neumann University will offer a Pennsylvania Department of Education-approved AI endorsement for K-12 teachers starting next summer. It's 12 credits, fully online, and can be finished in seven months.
The Program at a Glance
Who it's for: K-12 teachers
Approved by: the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE)
Size: 12 credits across four courses
Format: fully online
Timeline: starts next summer and can be completed in seven months, across the summer and fall semesters
Taught by: Education Professor Laura McLaughlin, director of the Center for Teaching Excellence and graduate education in Neumann's School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Education
Another route in: the endorsement can also be earned as part of Neumann's MS in Ed: Teaching and Learning program
Half the Coursework Is About Leadership
The four courses are:
Educational Leadership in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Designing AI-Enhanced Learning Experiences
Ethical and Equitable Use of AI in School
AI Leadership and Portfolio Practicum
That mix is the real story. Only one course is about designing lessons with AI. Two are about leadership, and one is about ethics and equity. The program was built on PDE's AI Endorsement Framework, and its shape says a lot about what AI readiness means: not just knowing which tools to open, but knowing when AI helps, where it creates risk, and how to bring colleagues along.
What an Endorsement Is (and Isn't)
An endorsement is not a new certification. In the Pennsylvania Department of Education's words, "Program Endorsements indicate knowledge in new and emerging areas where formal certification does not exist. They are intended to improve an educator's skills in dealing with complex educational issues."
Teachers add an endorsement to the Level I or Level II teaching certificate they already hold, as a record of specialized knowledge. Pennsylvania already offers endorsements in areas such as autism and online learning. Neumann's program brings AI into that same system.
For a district, that matters. The teacher keeps the same certificate and gains documented training in an area where no formal certification exists.
Built on a Course That Already Ran
The endorsement didn't start from scratch. In the summer of 2025, McLaughlin taught a special topics graduate course for a mix of elementary and secondary educators, examining how AI can be used to enhance instruction, support student learning, and inform decision-making.
Her case for the endorsement is simple:
"Our teachers are already navigating AI every day, usually without a roadmap. This endorsement was built on PDE's AI Endorsement Framework … We're preparing them to lead this shift, not just react to it."
What District Leaders Should Do Now
Find the teachers already leading on AI. Ask your principals which staff are already using AI thoughtfully in instruction. They're your first candidates for an endorsement, and your first voices on AI guidance.
Check your AI training against these four courses. If your professional development covers tools but not ethics, equity, or leadership, that's the gap to close first.
Pennsylvania districts: put it on the PD menu now. The program starts next summer, so this fall and winter is the time to raise it in growth conversations. For details, contact Amanda Small, enrollment coordinator for graduate admissions, at smalla@neumann.edu, or visit neumann.edu/MSED. The announcement doesn't list tuition, so ask before you budget.
Everywhere else: ask your state. Find out whether your state education department has, or is developing, an AI endorsement of its own. Pennsylvania's framework is a useful model either way.
Plan a role for endorsed teachers. The goal, in McLaughlin's words, is teachers who "lead this shift." Give them somewhere to do it: a seat on your AI guidance committee, peer coaching, or piloting new tools before a wider rollout.
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Source & Credit
This post summarizes and builds on "Neumann to offer AI endorsement for K-12 teachers," published by the Delco Times under its Daily Times staff byline on September 11, 2026. Their article draws on a Neumann University news release. The program details (the 12 credits, online format, seven-month timeline, start date, and four course titles), Laura McLaughlin's background and comments, and the Pennsylvania Department of Education's description of endorsements all come from their reporting. Our thanks to the Delco Times for covering it.
