7 Tips for Creating a Strong A.I. Policy That Works for Your School
From A.I. Companions to ChatGPT, more than 70% of teens have experimented with generative A.I. tools, with the majority having used A.I. to assist with homework. While A.I. can act as a great tool for learning, when misused, it can serve as a digital distraction or even a tool for cheating.
So how can schools create an A.I. policy that is both effective and empowers students to navigate A.I. in positive ways?
The Social Institute huddled with Daniel Humphrey, Director of Information Technology and A.I. expert at St. Edward High School, to discuss strategies schools can use to implement a strong A.I. policy. Let’s dive into the top tips, common mistakes, and resources school leaders and educators can use to craft A.I. guidelines that work for their school:
1. Avoid the biggest pitfall: Scare & restrict A.I. policies
With many schools concerned about the risks around student A.I. use, their first instinct is often to ban A.I., or treat it solely as a cheating tool. Mr. Humphrey warns that the most common mistake he sees schools make. Even with a ban, A.I. is not going anywhere. Students will still have access to the tool outside of school hours, and it may even become an integral part of their profession in the future.
Instead of scaring and restricting all access to A.I., empower and equip students to use it responsibly, and limit access when necessary. By empowering students to navigate A.I. in healthy ways, schools allow students to harness the benefits of the tool while guiding them away from unhealthy or unethical A.I. use.
2. Build buy-in through student & community involvement
While school leaders consider the approach that best fits their communities, at The Social Institute, we have found that student voice is key. Engaging students for input can lead to stronger adoption. And with strong adoption, future students come to school with a clear understanding of expectations, and administrators spend less time reminding students of the policy or handling disciplinary issues.
At St. Edward, Mr. Humphrey invited administrators, department heads, and teachers to shape the policy and give their feedback on A.I. use in school. They also included juniors and seniors in the policy-making process, who offered honest feedback about what they use A.I. for, in and out of the classroom. To keep families informed, they even brought parents into the conversation through information sessions with industry experts.
The result? Around 85% of their community supported the final policy. With strong student, educator, and family buy-in, students are more likely to follow school guidelines for A.I. and use the tech tool in positive ways.
You can start crafting a strong A.I. policy with students today by using The Social Institute’s School Leader Guide: Creating clear A.I. policies with student voice & buy-in.
3. Keep policies broad, flexible, and transparent
A.I. tools evolve rapidly, with new platforms rising in popularity every day. When creating your policy, instead of naming specific platforms (like ChatGPT or Grammarly), Mr. Humphrey suggests writing policies that apply to any A.I. tool. This avoids loopholes and ensures the policy won’t become outdated overnight.
Transparency is equally important. Strong policies should outline both ‘what’ the rule is, along with the ‘why’ behind it. For example, if you’re outlining a policy that states that A.I. chatbots are not allowed to be used for essays or written assignments, explain the reason for it, like preventing plagiarism and improving students’ writing skills. When students understand not just the rules, but the reasoning behind them, they’ll be more likely to follow them.
4. Set the example
Students can’t be what they can’t see. By highlighting positive examples of A.I. use, students have references to model their behavior after. Mr. Humphrey revealed that he found success by giving students visual examples of what responsible A.I. use looks like versus misuse:
- Acceptable: Using A.I. to brainstorm ideas for an essay or practice your vocabulary
- Unacceptable: Using A.I. to write your essay and submitting it as your own work
Teachers are learning about A.I. too. They can be role models for students by sharing examples of positive ways they have used A.I. in their lives, all while reinforcing expectations for student use of A.I.
5. Teach responsible A.I. use early with developmentally appropriate lessons
Younger students are already experimenting with A.I., often through platforms like Snapchat or Zoe, the A.I. chatbot marketed as safe for young kids. Instead of ignoring this reality, schools can introduce A.I. in safe, structured ways to proactively address challenges that may arise with A.I. in the future.
Some examples:
- Elementary/Lower school: Play “20 Questions” with A.I. or let A.I. generate images for student stories.
- Middle school: Ask students to “Interview a chatbot” to practice communication skills. (Ex. How did you come into existence? How long have you been here? What are some positives and negatives of your existence?)
- High/Upper school: Teach prompt-writing, citation, and critical evaluation of A.I. outputs.
These activities help students form their own opinions about A.I.’s benefits and drawbacks while learning how to use it responsibly.
Schools can take this strategy one step further by implementing lessons on A.I. Literacy into the school day. The Social Institute offers developmentally appropriate lessons on positive A.I. use in grades 3-12, such as Examining the ethics around A.I. and plagiarism for 9-12th grade and Exploring our school’s tech rules for 3rd-5th.
6. Don’t rely solely on tech tools to detect A.I.
Many schools use platforms like Turnitin to identify A.I. and plagiarism in assignments, but Mr. Humphrey advises schools not to rely solely on tech-based detection tools. While these tools can be helpful to deter unethical A.I., they are not always 100% accurate. Instead, schools can pair tools like Turnitin with these other strategies:
- Early in the year, have students handwrite assignments to better understand their writing “voice.”
- Pair writing assignments with presenting assignments, asking students to explain their work or coach up their peers.
- Use tools like Draftback, which tracks keystrokes in Google Docs, to see whether writing was produced organically or pasted in.
The goal isn’t to catch students using A.I. inappropriately, but to empower them to learn and use A.I. responsibly.
7. Critical thinking is key
Regarding A.I.-generated information, an important question for us to ask students now is: “What do you do with the information once you have it?”
With A.I. making it easier than ever to access information and generate answers, education must evolve. Mr. Humphrey encourages educators to shift from prioritizing memorization to focusing on creativity, application, and critical thinking. For example, instead of focusing on teaching students to memorize their vocabulary words, empower them to handwrite or draw examples of the words in action. That way, students are not only learning, but they’re practicing creativity and real-world application.
What’s the key to a strong A.I. policy in K-12 schools?
A strong A.I. policy doesn’t just prevent cheating. It empowers students to become thoughtful users of technology. By keeping policies flexible, involving the whole community, and balancing transparency with accountability, schools can prepare students for a future where A.I. is everywhere.
Mr. Humphrey reminds educators: Don’t be afraid of A.I. Experiment with it, learn alongside your students, and use it as an opportunity to rethink what truly matters in education.
Discover even more strategies for creating a strong A.I. policy by listening to our webinar with Mr. Humphrey, The innovative school’s A.I. policy playbook: Real strategies to empower A.I.-ready students. To go above and beyond and empower your entire school community to use A.I. in positive ways, request a demo for our comprehensive A.I. literacy lessons that you can plug-and-play during your school day.
The Social Institute (TSI) is the leader in equipping students, families, and educators with modern life skills to impact learning, well-being, and students’ futures. Through #WinAtSocial, our interactive, peer-to-peer learning platform, we integrate teacher PD, family resources, student voice insights, and more to empower entire school communities to make positive choices online and offline. #WinAtSocial Lessons teach essential skills while capturing student voice and actionable insights for educators. These insights help educators maintain a healthy school culture, foster high-impact teaching, and build meaningful relationships with families. Our unique, student-respected approach empowers and equips students authentically, enabling our solution to increase classroom participation and improve student-teacher relationships. Through our one-of-a-kind lesson development process, we create lessons for a variety of core and elective classes, incorporating timely topics such as social media, A.I., screen time, misinformation, and current events to help schools stay proactive in supporting student health, happiness, and academic success.