Artificial Intelligence in Schools

Upper Arlington Schools embraces the responsible and purposeful use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to empower all learners and staff to achieve their full potential while preparing them for a future where AI is prevalent. Recognizing that AI is a powerful tool that presents both opportunities and challenges, we are committed to fostering AI literacy, promoting ethical use, ensuring equitable access and upholding academic integrity. This commitment involves ongoing evaluation and adaptation of our practices to ensure that AI serves our shared educational goals and values.

The following principles guide the appropriate and safe use of AI and address current and future educational goals, teacher and student agency, academic integrity, and security. We commit to adopting internal procedures to operationalize each principle.

1. Use AI to Help All Students Achieve Their Educational Goals
   • AI tools can be used purposefully to achieve shared educational goals. 
   • Use AI to improve student learning, teacher effectiveness and school operations. 
   • Make AI resources accessible to all students, working to bridge the digital divide. 
   • Evaluate AI tools for biases to ensure they serve the diverse educational community.
2. Reaffirm Adherence to Existing Policies and Regulations.
   • AI use should comply with all existing policies, including those regarding student data privacy, accessibility for students with disabilities, and protection against harmful content.
   • Thoroughly evaluate existing and future technologies to address compliance gaps.
3. Promote AI Literacy.
   • Educate staff and students about AI to address risks and teach critical skills for the future.
   • Provide support to develop AI literacy, including how to use AI responsibly and ethically, and how AI works.
   • Support teachers in adapting instruction to a learning environment where students may have access to generative AI.
4. Realize the Benefits of AI and Address the Risks.
   • Guidance should support responsible use cases in line with AI's potential to benefit the community.
   • Provide guidance on mitigating risks to realize AI benefits, such as addressing misinformation and bias.
5. Advance Academic Integrity.
   • Address plagiarism and other academic integrity issues by emphasizing honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility by giving credit through appropriate citations.
   • Support staff and students to think critically about AI outputs and value authentic work.
6. Maintain Human Decision-Making When Using AI Tools.
   • The use of AI tools and their outputs should always be human-reviewed and not taken at face value.  Ultimately, pedagogical and decision-making processes regarding the use of AI tools and their outputs are the responsibility of staff members.
7. Regularly Assess the Impacts of AI.
   • Guidance should be reviewed and updated frequently.
   • Gather feedback from stakeholders to inform policy changes.

Artificial Intelligence Policy (7540.09)

Through this policy, the Board aims to prepare students and staff for success, encourage innovation in classroom instruction and critical thinking skills, and embrace opportunities for operational efficiency, while providing consistent expectations, standards, and guardrails for the safe and responsible implementation and integration of approved AI resources.

Guidance on the Use of AI in Upper Arlington City Schools

The district recognized that AI is a powerful tool that presents both opportunities and challenges. We are committed to fostering AI literacy, promoting ethical use, ensuring equitable access, and upholding academic integrity. This commitment involves ongoing evaluation and adaptation of our practices to ensure that AI serves our shared educational goals and values.