AI act, infrastrutture digitali e inclusione scolastica

This paper examines the relationship between digital transformation, school inclusion and the protection of the right to education, with particular focus on students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and disabilities. Starting from the notion of inclusive education as a process aimed at removing barriers to full participation in school life, the paper analyses the role of digital infrastructures as a necessary — though not sufficient — condition for the effective exercise of the right to education. The persistent infrastructural inequalities across Italian territory, exacerbated by the uneven implementation of PNRR investments and the Piano Scuola 4.0, risk deepening rather than reducing the digital divide within the school system. Against this backdrop, the paper then examines the regulatory framework governing the use of artificial intelligence in schools, with specific reference to the AI Act, the GDPR and the Guidelines issued by the Italian Ministry of Education in August 2025. While the Guidelines align with the risk-based approach of the AI Act and emphasise ethical principles such as transparency, human oversight and non-discrimination, they fall short of providing the concrete operational guidance needed by schools in their daily practice — a gap that stands in stark contrast to the more detailed European Guidelines for educators on the ethical use of AI. The paper concludes that, without adequate connectivity and without addressing algorithmic bias in AI systems trained on non-representative data, the deployment of AI in schools risks amplifying existing inequalities, posing a concrete threat to the right to education of the most vulnerable students.