COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Columbus City Schools has adopted a new policy to guide how artificial intelligence is used by students, teachers and staff, a move district leaders said is aimed at both safety and preparing students for a rapidly changing future.
“As AI changes and evolves, we’re staying in front of that and making sure that we’re keeping our students safe, our academic integrity in place and giving the training that our staff needs to be efficient and proficient with artificial intelligence,” said Christopher Lockhart, the district’s chief information officer.
District leaders said the policy outlines how artificial intelligence can be used responsibly in the classroom, though they emphasized that what that looks like will vary by age.
“It’s still developing,” Lockhart said. “And so right now if they’re in first grade, it’s going to be a completely different world. If they’re in seventh grade, we kind of have an idea, but we want to give them those fundamentals. If they’re in high school, the colleges are already using AI as part of their college classes.”
The district said the goal is to prepare students for jobs that don’t even exist yet.
“I think it’s exciting,” Lockhart said. “It’s an exciting opportunity for our students because it gives them more choice, more agency, and more autonomy about their learning.”
Leaders said the policy will continue evolving as the technology changes.