Adopt a system to help teachers communicate use

Do students know the stance on using AI for school work? Do families? Are teachers using a consistent communication system?

In fall 2024, a high school senior in Massachusetts faced disciplinary action for using artificial intelligence (AI) for a history project; his parents then sued the school. The student and his partner used an AI tool to generate text and citations for their assignment on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. However, the AI-produced content included fictitious sources, and the students did not credit the AI's assistance. The school viewed this as a breach of academic integrity, resulting in the student receiving a lower grade, detention, and initial exclusion from the National Honor Society. The parents contended that the school's policies didn't clearly address AI usage, making the punishment unjust. They sought to have their son's record cleared and his grade improved. Although a federal judge upheld the school's decision, stating that the existing plagiarism policy was sufficient to encompass AI-related infractions, this case underscores the growing need for educational institutions to establish clear guidelines on AI use in academic work. 

Consider the following:

• How will students know when they may or may not use AI on an assignment? What happens if they do?

• How does this align with your existing academic integrity policy?

• What system will allow teachers (and students) flexibility in their use of AI?

Additionally:

• Even LEAs who decide not to move AI implementation forward should create a mechanism to communicate expectations with students and families.  Without clarity, a situation like the Massachusetts example above is more likely. Students and families deserve to know the rules so that they can follow them, support them, and ask clarifying questions.

• Remember that AI is more than ChatGPT or CoPilot. In fact, many commonly used tools have embedded AI. Canva, Padlet, and Canvas are examples of apps that have built in AI features. Even Google embeds AI. Will these be allowed? What about Grammarly? A text-to-speech tool to help with complex text?

• To begin, it is probably okay to permit teachers to use only "red bot" (no AI allowed) with an expectation for them to learn and grow into "yellow bot" and "green bot" assignments. Professional development should support this trajectory.

• Check out Agua Fria's symple stoplight system.

Watch these videos to hear from districts in Arizona who completed this challenge. 

You will hear how they thought about and tackled the task, including challenges and successes.