14-02-2025
Schuylkill Haven Area School District introduces AI policy for students, staff
Schuylkill Haven Area School District officials are looking to establish guidelines for how students and staff engage with AI technology.
At a meeting Wednesday, the school board held the first reading of the newly proposed artificial intelligence policy.
'It is absolutely mind blowing how quickly AI is taking off,' said Matthew Buletza, director of learning innovation. 'We need to protect our students…teach students how to use it appropriately and teach staff how to use it to push the bar forward.'
The policy's stated goal is to ensure that AI is used ethically and responsibly to enhance teaching, learning and administrative processes, while safeguarding student privacy and data security.
It calls for students at all grade levels to be taught how to use AI tools, as well as the necessity of proper human supervision, critical thinking and skepticism regarding accuracy.
'Such instruction should aim to empower students with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the increasingly prevalent presence of AI technologies in their academic and personal lives,' the policy says.
To let students know whether AI can be used to complete certain assignments, the policy directs teachers to use an assignment rating scale from zero to four, with zero being no AI assistance allowed and four allowing full use of AI with human oversight.
Students who violate the assignment standards may be subject to detention, suspension or expulsion, the policy notes.
In addition, the policy allows teachers to use approved AI websites and applications to assist with grading student work, although it says final grading decisions must be made by teachers.
AI tools approved by district personnel may also be used to assist with human resource processes, although humans must still make the final call regarding employee evaluations, promotions and hiring, the policy says.
The policy also:
• Mandates filters that block 'obscene or pornographic material' on district-owned computers and the school provided internet, in compliance with the federal Children's Internet Protection Act.
• Prohibits the use of the personally identifiable information of students while using AI websites, tools or applications that have not been approved by district technology personnel.
• Directs district technology staff to establish a process for teachers and administrators to request approval of new AI resources.
• Requires those using AI resources to adhere to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal law that protects the privacy of students' education records.
• Directs officials to establish protocols for vetting AI tools before they are used for budgeting, payroll, financial or population forecasting, HR analytics and similar tasks.
• Directs officials to offer regular professional development training for administrators, teachers and staff on the ethical and appropriate use of AI in school.
'AI can be used to take our information and make sense of all the data that we collect, but we've got to be careful of putting any student identifiers in there that would put them at risk,' Buletza said. 'Trying to give our teachers everything they need, too. It's a brand-new world for everybody.'
The policy has not been finalized and may be subject to change before approval, officials noted.
