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NCSBN's Delegate Assembly adopted revisions to its Model Nursing Practice Act and Model Rules on 21 August 2026, including an AI provision for nursing education programmes, in a template that binds no nurse until a state enacts it
Three things make this easy to report wrongly. NCSBN is not a regulator, it is a membership organisation of nursing boards. Its Model Act is a template with an angle-bracket placeholder where the jurisdiction goes. And the adopted 2026 text is not published yet, so the site still serves the 2021 edition.
Bottom line: A model, not law. NCSBN's Delegate Assembly met in Chicago from 19 to 21 August 2026 and its news release, posted 21 August 2026, records that it adopted revisions to the Model Act and Model Rules. Nothing binds any nurse until an individual state board or legislature enacts it.
Who NCSBN is: In its own words, an independent, not-for-profit organization whose membership is comprised of the nursing regulatory bodies in the 50 states. It is a membership body of regulators, not a regulator. The Model Act's own Article I reads the placeholder JURISDICTION Nurse Practice Act.
What the AI provision covers: Proposed Rule 6.12.2 is addressed to the program: a prelicensure nursing education programme and its faculty. It requires the programme to develop policies on responsible AI use covering privacy, fairness, transparency, accountability and faculty oversight, and states that AI may supplement, not replace, human decision-making.
The provision that is NOT about AI: Proposed Article X is titled Emerging Technologies and is technology-neutral. It never uses the words artificial intelligence. It places responsibility on the licensee to obtain requisite competence before implementing emerging technology, and says accountability for competent care remains even in instances of technological failure.
The publication gap: The adopted 2026 text is not published. ncsbn.org still serves 21_Model_Act.pdf, whose first page reads NCSBN Model Act, Revised August 2021, and whose landing page still says approved by the Delegate Assembly in 2021. The provisions quoted here come from the 2026 Annual Meeting Business Book, so they are the text as PROPOSED.
Primary sources: NCSBN Model Act (the currently published edition, revised August 2021) · NCSBN Model Rules (currently published edition) · NCSBN 2026 Annual Meeting Business Book (source of the proposed Article X, Rule 6.12.2 and Model Act Section 12(B) text quoted here)
- Instrument
- Revisions to the NCSBN Model Nursing Practice Act and Model Rules, adopted by the Delegate Assembly
- Issuing body
- National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN)
- Legal character
- Model legislation. NCSBN describes itself as an independent, not-for-profit organization whose membership is comprised of the nursing regulatory bodies in the 50 states. It is not a regulator and cannot bind a licensee
- Jurisdiction
- United States, only where individually adopted. None yet
- Date of legal event
- Adopted at the Delegate Assembly held 19 to 21 August 2026 in Chicago. The news release recording the adoption is dated, on its own byline, Posted 08/21/2026
- Status of the text
- Adopted but NOT PUBLISHED. ncsbn.org continues to serve the 2021 edition; requests for a 2026 edition return the site's genuine 404
- Source of the quoted provisions
- The 2026 Annual Meeting Business Book, which carries them as proposals. They must be attributed as proposed text, not as adopted law
- Proposed Rule 6.12.2
- Artificial Intelligence (AI). (A) The program shall develop policies related to the responsible use of AI to include privacy, fairness, transparency, accountability and faculty responsibilities for oversight. (B) AI may supplement, not replace, human decision-making
- Proposed Article X
- Emerging Technologies. Technology-neutral; it does not use the term artificial intelligence
- Proposed Model Act Section 12(B)
- A program may use artificial intelligence (AI), as determined by the BON set forth in rules, to supplement teaching and evaluation methods
- Who the AI rule binds
- The program, meaning prelicensure nursing education programmes and faculty. Not bedside nurses and not employers
- State adoption
- No evidence of any state board adoption. The action is nine days old and state rulemaking takes months, so this is an absence of evidence rather than a rejection
- Editorial Note
- Informational analysis for working professionals, not legal advice. Confirm how any rule applies to your situation with qualified counsel.
- Primary source
- https://www.ncsbn.org/public-files/2026AM-Business-Book.pdf
What was actually adopted, and what it can actually do
NCSBN's Delegate Assembly met in Chicago from 19 to 21 August 2026. Its news release, whose own byline reads Posted 08/21/2026, records that significant actions approved include adopting revisions to the Model Act and Model Rules. The release does not itemise what was adopted.
The Model Act is a template. Its own Article I is written as the angle-bracketed JURISDICTION Nurse Practice Act, a placeholder for whichever state enacts it. NCSBN describes itself as an independent, not-for-profit organization whose membership is comprised of the nursing regulatory bodies in the 50 states.
So the correct reading is that a membership body of regulators has updated a template its members may choose to adopt. It creates no duty for any nurse, any programme or any employer today. A headline saying US nursing regulators have imposed AI rules would be wrong on both the actor and the effect.
The AI rule is about nursing schools, not nursing
Proposed Rule 6.12.2 opens with the words the program shall. In the Model Rules that means a prelicensure nursing education programme.
It requires the programme to develop policies related to the responsible use of AI, to include privacy, fairness, transparency, accountability and faculty responsibilities for oversight. Its second limb states that AI may supplement, not replace, human decision-making.
There is a companion at proposed Model Act Section 12(B): a program may use artificial intelligence, as determined by the BON set forth in rules, to supplement teaching and evaluation methods. Again the subject is the programme, and again the operative permission is routed through whatever the state board sets out in its own rules.
If you advise nursing schools, that is your provision. If you advise hospitals on clinical AI deployment, it is not.
Article X is not the AI article, despite how it will be reported
Proposed Article X is titled Emerging Technologies, and it never uses the words artificial intelligence. Its text places the burden on the individual: the licensee is responsible for obtaining the requisite competence prior to implementing emerging technology and ensuring appropriate use, and nurses are accountable for their practice and the responsibility to provide competent care remains even in instances of technological failure.
That second clause is the interesting one, and it is broader than AI precisely because it is technology-neutral. Competence is required before implementation, and accountability survives the technology failing. A nurse cannot point at a malfunctioning tool.
But it is not an AI provision, and reporting it as one would misdescribe a technology-neutral competence rule as a targeted AI duty.
Why the text is not verifiable yet, and what to do about it
The adopted 2026 text is not published. ncsbn.org still serves 21_Model_Act.pdf, whose page 1 reads NCSBN Model Act, Revised August 2021, and whose landing page still says approved by the Delegate Assembly in 2021. Requests for a 2026 edition return the site's genuine 404 body rather than a soft failure.
In the published 2021 editions, Article X is the Nursing Licensure Compact and Chapter 6 of the Rules ends at 6.4.8. There is no 6.12. Both 2021 documents contain zero occurrences of artificial intelligence, AI as a standalone term, and algorithm.
So every provision quoted in this piece comes from the 2026 Annual Meeting Business Book, where they appear as proposals put to the Assembly. The Assembly adopted revisions; the published text confirming the final wording does not yet exist.
The practical consequence: if you are drafting a comment to a state board, cite the Business Book and say so. Do not cite a 2026 Model Act edition, because there is not one to cite.
Report this as a model, not a rule. NCSBN is a membership organisation of nursing boards, not a regulator, and its Model Act carries an angle-bracket placeholder where the jurisdiction goes. The Delegate Assembly adopted revisions on 21 August 2026, but the adopted text is unpublished and the site still serves the 2021 edition, so the AI wording quoted anywhere today comes from the Business Book as proposed. The provision that names AI, Rule 6.12.2, governs nursing education programmes and faculty, not practising nurses. Article X, which does not name AI at all, is the one that reaches licensees, and it says competence must precede implementation and accountability survives technological failure. No state has adopted any of it, which after nine days is unsurprising rather than significant.
Source File
https://www.ncsbn.org/public-files/2026AM-Business-Book.pdf
Open 21_Model_Act.pdf and 21_Model_Rules.pdf at ncsbn.org and confirm page 1 of the Act reads NCSBN Model Act, Revised August 2021. Search both for artificial intelligence, standalone AI and algorithm; all should return zero. Confirm that in the published Act, Article X is the Nursing Licensure Compact, and that Chapter 6 of the published Rules ends at 6.4.8 with no 6.12. Then open the 2026 Annual Meeting Business Book and locate the proposed Article X, Emerging Technologies, proposed Rule 6.12.2 on Artificial Intelligence, and proposed Model Act Section 12(B). Finally check the NCSBN news release whose byline reads Posted 08/21/2026 for the adoption record. Note that ncsbn.org has no sitemap and serves a distinctive 404 body, so a 404 there is a real absence rather than a retrieval failure.
The program shall develop policies related to the responsible use of AI to include privacy, fairness, transparency, accountability and faculty responsibilities for oversight. AI may supplement, not replace, human decision making. - Proposed Rule 6.12.2, NCSBN 2026 Annual Meeting Business Book
FAQ
Does this create any obligation for a practising nurse today?
No. NCSBN is a membership organisation of nursing regulatory bodies, not a regulator. Its Model Act and Model Rules are templates. Nothing binds a licensee, a programme or an employer unless a state board or legislature adopts the language.
Who does the AI rule actually apply to?
Proposed Rule 6.12.2 begins the program shall, meaning a prelicensure nursing education programme. It addresses programme policies and faculty oversight, not clinical practice by individual nurses and not employers.
Is Article X the AI provision?
No. Proposed Article X is titled Emerging Technologies and is technology-neutral; it never uses the term artificial intelligence. It requires a licensee to obtain requisite competence before implementing emerging technology and provides that accountability for competent care remains even in instances of technological failure.
Can I read the adopted 2026 text?
Not yet. ncsbn.org still serves the 2021 editions, whose first page reads Revised August 2021, and requests for a 2026 edition return the site's genuine 404. The provisions quoted publicly come from the 2026 Annual Meeting Business Book, where they appear as proposals.
Has any state adopted this?
No evidence of adoption. The Assembly action is nine days old and state rulemaking runs for months, so this is an absence of evidence rather than a rejection.
What is the date of this action?
The Delegate Assembly met 19 to 21 August 2026 in Chicago, and the NCSBN news release recording the adoption carries its own byline of Posted 08/21/2026.
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