National Parents Union

Everyday Parents Impacting Change

EPIC

20 stops. Parents and families.

Twenty stops. The first three were standing room only, which tells you how long families have been waiting to be asked. Two hours at one table, on what AI is really doing in their homes, their classrooms and their jobs. The thrilling parts and the 2 a.m. parts, usually in the same breath.

The National Parents Union and Rebecca Winthrop of the Brookings Institution, with local parent organizations at every stop.

Save my seatBring it to my town

Your kid says, “I asked AI.” What's your gut?

Three rooms in. Standing room only in all three.

Nobody had to be talked into showing up. Chattanooga filled the downtown library. Detroit filled Engaged Detroit. Providence filled Stop the Wait. Then people asked when we were coming back and whether we could come to their town too, which is exactly why the 2027 route keeps getting longer.

Everybody got asked about AI except the people raising the kids.

Tech companies are sprinting. School districts are writing rules in a hurry, or not writing them at all. And the families living with every bit of it keep getting asked last. EPIC flips the order. Two hours at one table, in a room their own neighbors filled. Real stories and a demand with a name on it before anyone goes home.

32%

of parents give their school an A for clear tech and AI policy. Dead last on the whole report card.NPU/Echelon Insights, 1,527 K-12 parents, May 28 to June 1, 2026.

Whose parents, though?

When a headline says parents are worried about AI, somebody should ask which parents. The voice that makes it to a state house usually belongs to whoever had the most free time, the best broadband and somebody to watch the kids that night. That is not most of this country.

So EPIC goes to the neighborhood instead of waiting for the neighborhood to come to us. Interpretation at the table, so a mother says exactly what she means in the language she means it in. Childcare, because a babysitter should not be the price of admission. And local organizations who already know every family on the block doing the inviting.

If this adds up to a national picture of what families want from AI, it has to actually look like the nation.

Parents listening through interpretation headsets at an EPIC roundtable
Headsets at the table. Parents speak in the language they think in.

How the night runs

Two hours. Deep roundtable discussion. One question asked the same way in every city: is this good for kids?

  1. What's actually happening

    Not opinions. Stories. The homework, the chatbot, the thing you found on their phone, the thing the school never mentioned.

  2. What worries you. What excites you.

    Both, same breath. Fear data on AI and families exists in piles. Hope data barely exists. We're collecting both.

  3. What if this went right for your kid?

    Not kids in general. Yours. What do you actually want this thing to do for them?

  4. One demand. One name.

    The room writes a single sentence aimed at a decision-maker who has to answer it. Everybody leaves with a job.

Twenty stops. Find yours.

Nine this fall. Eleven more across spring 2027, and the list keeps growing because people keep asking. Tap yours.

  1. Chattanooga, TNMonday, October 5, 2026. 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Chattanooga Public Library, Downtown Branch. Standing room only.
  2. Detroit, MIThursday, October 15, 2026. 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Engaged Detroit. Standing room only.
  3. Providence, RISaturday, October 17, 2026. 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Stop the Wait RI. Standing room only.
  4. Chicago, ILThursday, October 29, 2026. 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Eastern. Virtual session. Sign up for Chicago.
  5. Anchorage, AKFriday, November 6, 2026. 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Z.J. Loussac Library, 3600 Denali St. Open for sign-up. Sign up for Anchorage.
  6. Portland, ORSaturday, November 7, 2026. 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Open Schools Inc, 16570 SE Oak Street. Open for sign-up. Sign up for Portland.
  7. Kansas City, MOSaturday, November 14, 2026. 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Southeast Community Center, 4201 E. 63rd Street. Open for sign-up. Sign up for Kansas City.
  8. San Antonio, TXWednesday, November 18, 2026. 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Open for sign-up. Sign up for San Antonio.
  9. Los Angeles, CAWednesday, December 16, 2026. 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Open for sign-up. Sign up for Los Angeles.
  10. San Juan, PRFebruary 15 to 19, 2027. Spring 2027.
  11. Birmingham, ALFebruary 22, 2027. Spring 2027.
  12. Atlanta, GAFebruary 23 to 26, 2027. Spring 2027.
  13. Baltimore, MDMarch 3 to 6, 2027. Spring 2027.
  14. Charlotte, NCMarch 16 to 18, 2027. Spring 2027.
  15. Boston, MAMarch 30 to April 1, 2027. Spring 2027.
  16. Seattle, WAApril 6 to 8, 2027. Spring 2027.
  17. New York, NYApril 20 to 22, 2027. Spring 2027.
  18. Denver, COApril 27 to 29, 2027. Spring 2027.
  19. Chicago, ILMay 11 to 13, 2027. Spring 2027.
  20. Billings, MTMay 18 to 20, 2027. Spring 2027.

Get in the room.

Two ways in. Grab a seat at a stop on the map, or make the case for your town.

This goes straight to the National Parents Union team.

Worried or hopeful? Drag it.

Parents live on both ends. Most of us live in the middle.

Worried Hopeful
90%

want chatbots required by law to alert parents if a child asks about harmful or illegal behavior

88%

say schools should tell parents when their child will use or interact with AI

83%

want parents able to see the conversations their child has had with a chatbot

53%

say being skilled with AI tools will be essential or very important to their child's career

63%

want their child's school teaching students to use AI effectively

+4

is AI's net impact on kids, as parents rate it. Social media sits at −24.

Right here is where most parents actually stand. Keep them safe and get them ready. Same breath.

NPU/Echelon Insights national survey of 1,527 parents of K-12 public school students, fielded May 28 to June 1, 2026. Margin of error ±2.7 points.

2.15Mmembers
2,200affiliated parent groups
20stops on the tour
50states, plus DC and Puerto Rico
Parents around the table at an EPIC listening session
Parents talking at an EPIC roundtable
A parent making a point at an EPIC session
A full room at an EPIC listening session
Families and organizers at an EPIC stop
Parents and host partners at an EPIC roundtable

Rebecca Winthrop took this question to 50 countries. Now it's coming to your city.

Rebecca directs the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. Her team's yearlong global study heard from more than 500 students, teachers, parents, education leaders and technologists across 50 countries and reviewed more than 400 studies. One finding: on the path we're on, the risks to students outweigh the benefits. The other finding: it is not too late to bend that. Her framework runs through every EPIC table.

Read the Brookings report Burns, Winthrop, Luther, Venetis and Karim, A New Direction for Students in an AI World: Prosper, Prepare, Protect, Brookings Center for Universal Education, January 2026.
ProsperTeaching and learning that help kids thrive in a world full of AI.
PrepareReal AI literacy for students, teachers and families.
ProtectTools built and governed to keep kids' privacy, safety and security intact.

Do your homework before your city's night.

ParentsonAI.orgProtected, Not Restricted. What 1,527 parents told us they want from AI and tech in their kids' schools. MyKidMyData.orgThe red, yellow and green light for AI in your kid's school, plus the questions to ask your principal. In English, Spanish and Portuguese. ProtectandPrepare.orgWhy we refuse to choose between keeping kids safe and getting them ready. Brookings on AI + kidsRebecca Winthrop and the Center for Universal Education: Prosper, Prepare, Protect.

Pull up a chair.

No panel of experts who've never packed a lunchbox. Families, figuring out the future out loud. Bring your questions, bring your teenager, bring the aunt who actually reads the terms of service.

Join the National Parents Union