West Virginia this week became only the third state to release .
AI-powered tools can craft a surprisingly humanlike essay on the origins of the Declaration of Independence or write a lesson plan on the phases of the moon鈥攕parking questions about student cheating and ethical teacher use. And because these systems develop and iterate by devouring data, there are serious privacy concerns.
So far, though, only two other states鈥擟alifornia and Oregon鈥攈ave released AI guidance specifically for K-12 education. At least 11 others are in the process of developing it, according to a report by the Center on Reinventing Public Education at Arizona State University.
That鈥檚 a significant gap, given that 55 percent of respondents in an EdWeek Research Center survey last year reported that they were seeing an increased need for guidance or policy around the use of AI in the classroom.
West Virginia officials sought to explain how existing laws and policies on issues like cheating and student data privacy apply to AI tools, said Erika Klose, the state鈥檚 director of P12 Academic support.
鈥淭here are many AI products being developed that we know will be marketed to our county school districts. 鈥� We wanted to point out that AI is a technology. It鈥檚 a new technology. It鈥檚 kind of an amazing technology. But it鈥檚 a technology nonetheless,鈥� Klose said. 鈥淎nd we already have a lot of policies and safeguards in place. We just need to make sure that whatever we do with AI is in alignment with those policies.鈥�
This guidance鈥攃rafted by officials with a range of expertise at the state education agency鈥攊s West Virginia鈥檚 鈥淰ersion 1.0,鈥� Klose said. The state鈥檚 work was also informed by a by Teach AI, an initiative launched by a cadre of nonprofits to help schools think through AI guidance and policy.
鈥淲e made a choice to be very proactive,鈥� Klose said. It鈥檚 more efficient to update guidance in response to a challenge or question than to start that process from scratch when a problem arises, she said.
鈥楢 very fluid framework鈥�
Once district officials have had a chance to digest the guidance, West Virginia plans an outreach push on AI around the state that will include superintendents, administrators, educators, parents, families, and students, in addition to local industry.
That will 鈥渋nform where we go next鈥� in thinking through AI, Klose said. 鈥淭his is a very fluid framework for what is happening with AI.鈥�
One key tenet of the guidance: 鈥淲e can never take people out of the equation鈥� when it comes to AI, Klose said. AI has the 鈥減otential to benefit learning. It鈥檚 a benefit that has to be approached with caution. But it鈥檚 not a benefit that we can necessarily ignore.鈥�
On student cheating, the guidance recommends that educators see 鈥淎I as an opportunity to better our instruction so that we might not be giving as many assignments that students could use AI to complete,鈥� Klose said.
On privacy, the guidance explains that information put into an AI model, including prompts and questions, could potentially be shared with other users. That鈥檚 why staff and students are barred from sharing confidential or personally identifiable information with AI tools without permission, the guidance says.
The guidance also reminds districts that they鈥檒l need to get permission from parents for children under 18 to use generative AI technologies like ChatGPT. Districts should make sure schools are 鈥渇ully informed about the nature, capabilities, and limitations of the AI technology, as well as the data privacy and security measures in place,鈥� the state officials wrote.
The guidance provides an explanation of how AI works. And it includes a checklist of factors local educators should consider before bringing AI into the classroom, such as how the technology is being used to supplement鈥攏ot replace鈥攁 teacher; and in some cases, whether AI tools are accessible for students with learning and thinking differences.
The guidance is clear that AI should not be responsible for writing an entire lesson plan, without teacher review and input.
At the same time it released the guidance, West Virginia published a collection of resources schools can use to teach about AI in computer science and other classes.
The early response has been positive, Klose said. 鈥淒istrict [leaders] and superintendents already thanked us for it,鈥� she said.
