The US Department of Education wants to rewrite its grant priorities around the term Super Intelligence. In a proposed rule published in the Federal Register on November 5, 2026, the Department says it would use "Super Intelligence" in place of "Artificial Intelligence", and "SI" in place of "AI", in every use of the terms, with limited exceptions.
The document was signed on November 3 by Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
What would change
The Department lists four renames in its AI priority:
- The notice title would change to the Secretary's Supplemental Priority and Definitions on Advancing Super Intelligence in Education.
- The priority itself would be renamed from "Advancing Artificial Intelligence in Education" to "Advancing Super Intelligence in Education".
- The definition of "Artificial Intelligence (AI)" would become "Super Intelligence (SI)".
- The definition of "AI literacy" would become "SI literacy".
The new definitions would also be added to the Department's other supplemental priorities, including those on evidence-based literacy, education choice, career pathways and workforce readiness.
Two exceptions keep the old wording: the definition of SI itself, which refers to "artificial intelligence", and the title of the Department of Labor's Artificial Intelligence Literacy Framework.
Why the Department says it is doing this
The proposal points to President Trump's September 29, 2026 executive order, "Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence", which directs agencies to use the new terms in official correspondence, public communications, policy documents and other non-statutory documents.
The Department says the revisions align the priority with current federal terminology while "maintaining the substantive focus" on preparing students and educators to understand and use these technologies.
What the priority would cover
The renamed priority would still fund projects such as bringing SI literacy into teaching, expanding age-appropriate SI and computer science education in K-12, and adding SI and computer science to college core curricula and teacher training.
The Department also proposes a new subpart promoting SI literacy efforts aligned with the five content areas and seven delivery principles in the Labor Department's February 13, 2026 AI Literacy Framework.
Why it matters
The Super Intelligence label is moving beyond press releases and into the rules behind federal education grants. If adopted, "SI literacy" would become the Department's official term for AI skills in schools and colleges. The next marker is December 7, 2026, when the comment period closes on Regulations.gov. The Department would then have to decide whether to finalize the changes.