DepEd Order 003 lets schools use AI as support, and keeps humans in charge

What DepEd issued

On 25 February 2026, the Philippine News Agency reported that DepEd will allow AI in public schools under Department Order No. 003, series of 2026. The title is the Foundational Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence in Basic Education.

PNA said the general guidelines were issued on 20 February. Secretary Sonny Angara spoke about them that Wednesday at Malinta Elementary School in Valenzuela City.

AI must strictly function as an auxiliary tool. It must not replace teachers in evaluating learners. Human judgment must remain paramount.

What schools may use it for

PNA said staff and learners may explore tools that meet ethical, pedagogical and human-centered standards. AI may help create instructional materials. It may also support data analysis, grammar checks and citation checks.

It may help build exams, quizzes and other assessments. Teachers must still supervise, validate and judge that work.

Uses for grading, admissions, scholarships and discipline are high-risk. PNA said those uses are allowed only with strict safeguards and human oversight.

Learners must disclose how they used AI. PNA said outputs should cite the tool and the task, including brainstorming, writing, research, presentations and homework. The report named ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Grammarly, Quillbot, Canva, Tome and Khanmigo as examples. That is not a product-approval list.

What is prohibited, and what GMA added

PNA said DepEd prohibits AI that poses significant risks to rights, safety and well-being. The banned group includes biometric or emotion recognition, biometric categorization, manipulative chatbots for minors, social scoring, and untargeted scraping of facial images.

GMA News, on 26 February 2026, reported the same order and added operational rules. AI cannot be the sole basis for grading, learner evaluation or major academic decisions.

GMA said direct AI interaction is restricted for Kindergarten to Grade 3. It must be supervised, and safeguards include parental notification. Angara told PNA the policy is graduated: more independent learners get more latitude.

GMA also said offices and schools must complete a Privacy Impact Assessment before deployment, and register each system in a DepEd AI Registry. GMA reported that the order takes effect 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper. This article did not confirm that publication date. The PDF link returned an error when checked on 22 September 2026.

What to do next

• Ask the school which AI tools, if any, are registered for class use.
• If a learner uses AI for schoolwork, cite the tool and how it was used.
• Do not treat an AI score as the final grade. Ask which teacher reviewed it.
• For Kindergarten to Grade 3, ask how use is supervised and how parents are told.
• Do not agree to facial recognition, emotion recognition or social scoring at school.

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