Florence 1 Introduces New Artificial Intelligence Policy

Over the last several years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rolled out in many sectors across the United States, including education. During the September Board of Trustees meeting, a new policy was presented that will help create a framework for how AI can be used in Florence 1 Schools, the first district in the state to introduce such a policy.

Policy JICE: Acceptable Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) states, “The Board of Trustees recognizes the use of artificial intelligence (AI) may result in increased and enhanced learning opportunities for students in the school District.  The Board adopts this Policy to provide guidelines and expectations for student use of generative AI. For the purpose of this Policy, “AI” means all types of generative AI technologies that create new content or outputs commonly associated with human beings from a prompt to produce text, images, videos, or music.” 

Deputy Superintendent Kyle Jones said that Florence 1 wants to be proactive now, showing students how to use AI technology responsibly, rather than reactive later. 

“AI can have many positive uses,” Jones said. “As a district, we already try to teach our students about responsible digital citizenship and the adoption of this AI policy is in line with that.  Artificial Intelligence is not going to go away so it is imperative that our students learn the right way to use it. If our students aren’t adapting and learning to use AI they will be left behind their peers on the national level.”

The District will construct a comprehensive AI plan that will set guidelines for how the technology can be used including:

• A list of staff members who are authorized to permit student use of AI in assignments

• An explanation of when, how, and to what extent students may use AI

• A list of consequences if a student violates any provision of the AI Plan, which will be included in the District’s Student Behavior Code

• An explanation of how students will cite or document AI-generated content in their assignment

Florence 1 Superintendent Richard O’Malley told board members that, once adopted, the new policy will guide both students and staff as they use AI in the classroom.

“Many people, when they think about AI, think about the possibility of students using it to cheat,” O’Malley said. “I believe we should think about it from a positive perspective, that it can be used to accelerate learning for kids, especially students with special needs or our multi-lingual learners. I think the potential is there. Other states already have policies in place for this and our kids can’t be left behind because our state hasn’t adopted a framework yet.”  

Last October, the Consortium for School Networking and the Council of the Great City Schools released a joint document called the K–12 Generative AI Readiness Checklist “designed to guide K-12 school districts in understanding key factors to consider before implementing Gen AI technologies. The checklist serves as a preliminary tool for district leaders…to evaluate the safety, privacy, security, and ethical implications of using Gen AI.”

TeachAI also published an AI Guidance for Schools Toolkit to provide guidance on how AI can be used responsibly in schools with input from more than 60 leaders and organizations in the technology sector, including Khan Academy, the International Society for Technology in Education, and Code.org.

O’Malley said that with guidance from these documents and through conversations with other experts, Florence 1 wants teachers to “test drive” the AI technology.

“The research shows that the most effective use of the AI technology is as a supplemental tool for students,” O’Malley said. “We are going to encourage our teachers to try out the AI tools that have been vetted by our Technology Department for themselves. They can get a fresh perspective on an assignment they’ve given by engaging the AI tools to see what suggestions it offers that can help them make the assignment more relevant to their students.”

Florence 1 Schools acknowledges that technology is ever-changing and has a tremendous impact on the global society, local community, and classrooms. Artificial intelligence (AI), including generative forms of AI, is becoming part of everyday lives. Administrators say it is part of the district’s responsibility to educate and train students to utilize AI in an ethical and educational way.