The AI Task Force Steering Committee came back to the Del Norte Unified School District Board of Trustees with a draft policy on the acceptable use of Artificial Intelligence, or AI, April 10. 

The policy is meant to outline the acceptable uses of AI within schools, with goals to foster safe and ethical use, enhance learning and teaching, and develop digital literacy. It also outlines guidelines for use by teachers, staff, and students. The criteria needed to vet AI tools, frequently asked questions, and the consequences for violating the policy are also included.

AI is reshaping education with new tools constantly being created, Matthew Long, career technical education program technician for the Del Norte County Office of Education, told the school board. Just as educators were skeptical when the internet was first introduced, and has since proven to be indispensable, Long said, “AI stands at a similar crossroad today.”

“Dismissing AI as a passing trend … risks leading students unprepared for a world where AI is ubiquitous,” Long said. “Instead, educators should embrace embedded AI tools that, when used responsibly, enhance them. AI can provide personalized tutoring, screenwide administrative tasks, and foster critical thinking. To harness AI’s potential while mitigating risks, we must implement a flexible AI policy.” 

Director of Information Network Services Ryan Bahten came to the board last year with the idea of bringing AI into the classroom. In January, the district deployed a community survey to gather input for the draft policy.

“This policy is the guardrail that we’re going to use as a collective group, and as a district and county office, to assess and vet these platforms that people are requesting; that we’re using already, and make sure we’re meeting these goals we’ve gathered input on,” Bahten said.

The board was in favor of the draft policy, stating that there was very little that needed to be changed, but they agreed to make a decision at their April 24 meeting after some language was strengthened. 

The AI Task Force Steering Committee consists of other Del Norte Office of Education staff, including Coordinator of Professional Learning Aaron Lovejoy and IMC Coordinator Jeremy Goff, as well as MTSS Program Technician for DNUSD, Damien Richcreek, and former Ed-Tech teacher David Armstrong.

Del Norte High School student, Bria Larson, who is also on the task force, is organizing a student-led club on the abilities of AI and “how different platforms can be used as tools for our learning.” 

Larson said some of the students’ concerns regarding AI usage include data safety, AI dependency, and how it can be used to cheat. Through the responsible use of AI, students can ask questions and learn at their own pace. “Almost like having a personal tutor available 24/7,” she said.

“Instead of just banning AI or leaving students to figure out these platforms on their own, a structured system can help students’ learning become more effective,” Larson told the school board. 

The school board said the draft policy the AI Task Force created was well-written and it should be adopted soon, as it is ever-evolving. But some members expressed the need for more detailed language regarding students’ goals and the vetting process for AI tools.

Trustee Abbie Crist suggested there be goals augmented under the “Student Use” section of the policy that differentiate between grade levels.

“I can see a very distinct difference between the elementary school students and the middle and high school students,” Crist said. “For the students in their elementary school years, I think it’s so critically important that they be able to read, write and come up with creative things without typing it into a program.” 

Aaron Lovejoy explained how AI is not one uniform tool that gives answers. One of the many tools, for example, will allow elementary students to read to an AI application that will “decode when they made a mistake, have them go back to it, and help tutor them through it.”

“Not everything in AI is about giving students answers. This is why we have a vetting program — it’s basically for us to look at specific apps, make sure they’re appropriate for those applications and then vet it as something that is appropriate,” Lovejoy said. “The tools out there are amazing, and part of this vetting process would be making sure that those are the tools that are getting in students’ hands.”

The LearnPlatform by Infrastructure is a vetting program that includes a request form that can be filled out for a tool and a library of what tools the school district already has, according to Bahten. 

Math and Social Studies Teacher Amber Tiedeken-Cron appreciated the inclusion of bias mitigation in the “AI Tool Vetting and Approval” section of the policy, saying she wants to make sure her students don’t receive “skewed” information.

“It’s nice that we’re headed in a direction to get stuff in place so that we have that tool to help our kids with, and that they’re getting accurate information that they’re using,” Tiedeken-Cron said.

Math Teacher Karsten Pound sees similarities between the adoption of calculators and AI. It is a powerful tool, but “the tool is only as powerful as the person who holds it.” 

 “A calculator is never 100% accurate because it depends on what setting you have it on; it depends on how you put [the information] in, and it’s the same thing with AI,” Pound said.

Math teachers are starting to use tools where students teach AI to solve problems, according to the new technology Pound saw at a conference. The students correct the AI, which helps it in its data collection. 

“But if we are preparing students for real life, there are so many careers now that are focused on AI, and it is happening so fast, so it’s important that we incorporate it,” Pound said. 

DNUSD will decide on the implementation of this AI Policy at 4:30 p.m. April 24 in Smith River Elementary School, located at 564 W First St. in Smith River CA. You can view the meeting agenda at this link.