“AI is moving super-fast,” said Oz Robledo, IT manager for the school district. “It changes weekly if not daily in some cases, and this policy is put together in a way that allows us to adapt to what is new as technology develops, maybe without needing to update the policy. The goal was to establish a set of expectations and guardrails for the use of AI.”
He said AI is part of our lives, “whether we like it or not.”
“And there are a lot of things I don’t like about it,” he said. “I’m more comfortable with adults using it because we have more experience and know when it’s ‘hallucinating’ and giving us wrong information. Students don’t know that.”
So, he said their AI activity needs to be carefully monitored and controlled.
“That is what I’m aiming for this policy to do, and to let the people be at the forefront of IT — myself and my team — teach it,” Robledo said. “We’re doing our best to keep kids as safe as possible.”
The policy states that “the Governing Board recognizes the transformative potential of artificial intelligence to increase student access to information, support teacher effectiveness and facilitate the administration of student assessments, as well as the potential for AI to undermine student achievement, health and well-being.”
It applies to all district students, employees, contractors, vendors, volunteers, coaches and other people who interact with artificial intelligence systems in connection with district programs, services, instructional activities and district-owned or district-managed systems and data.
The policy states that the board is committed to supporting the use of AI by students and staff in accordance with nine principles.
One of the key principles states, “AI should be used to personalize and enhance the learning experience for each support and to support digital citizenship and literacy, and serve as a supplemental tool that reinforces — rather than replaces — instruction, critical thinking and student responsibility for learning.”
Another principle states, “AI should be used as a tool to augment and support, rather than replace, staff in the performance of their duties and responsibilities. AI may assist with planning, analysis and instructional support but does not replace professional judgment, instructional expertise or human oversight.”
Other principles require AI to be used ethically and transparently by all staff and students, applied in a manner that ensures accountability by those who use it and implemented in a way that ensures equitable access and opportunity for all students.
Also, the district is required to prioritize security and privacy when changing existing practices of adopting new practices regarding AI; provide ongoing professional development for staff members in all aspects of AI; regularly evaluate the use of AI by students and staff members; and engage with the community to share these principles, educate the community on AI and discuss permitted and prohibited uses of AI in the district.
The policy lists three uses of AI that are prohibited in the district.
- Accessing, creating or distributing content that is harmful, obscene, threatening, disruptive or sexually explicit or that constitutes harassment, intimidation or discrimination against individuals or groups based on protected characteristics
- Sharing, inputting or disclosing confidential information or personally identifiable information of students, staff or others, except as permitted by district policy and approved tools and practices
- Using AI systems in a manner that violates district policies related to academic honesty, student conduct, employee conduct, acceptable use of technology or applicable laws
“Violations of this policy may result in loss of access to AI tools and may be subject to disciplinary action or other consequences in accordance with district policy and law,” the policy states.
District Supt. Jason Sutter emphasized that “this is just a policy,” rather than an administrative regulation.
A board policy provides general guidance for the operations of a school district and creates a framework for the superintendent and staff to assign responsibilities with positive direction but does not provide specific instructions for carrying out the policy.
An administrative regulation (AR) consists of detailed directions developed by the district’s administrator to implement policies and regulations. It provides specific procedural steps for implementing a policy.
“There is a committee that is working on this and they’re still developing what would be the AR, the way we actually implement this policy,” Sutter said. “This (policy) is the ‘what’ in the big picture and the AR is the ‘how’ — how we actually bring it forward.”
He said that as soon as the committee is able to articulate the policy into an AR, it will be shared with the board.
Trustee Jason Lehman said that the board’s role is to outline and define, not focus on implementation.
“That is done by staff,” he said. “How students use AI ultimately won’t be up to us. That is not what this policy is all about.”
Lehman noted that the policy doesn’t contain anything about student use of AI at specific grade levels, for example.
“I would love to see how the district eventually implements this policy, but the way that I look at it, it is the broad box, and the staff needs to go out and implement it,” he said.
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