KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) – Metro school districts are establishing rules for artificial intelligence use in the classroom as a new school year gets underway — and an AI-focused school company is now assessing whether Kansas City could support a future campus.
Shawnee Mission, Olathe and Kansas City, Kansas, public schools are each taking steps to guide how students and staff use AI tools — with a shared focus on preventing cheating and protecting student data.
Shawnee Mission School District leaders said the goal is not to ban AI but to set rules that allow it to support learning without letting students use it to skip the work. The district’s school board met Monday night to discuss how teachers and students should use the technology.
“It’s a hot topic. Not just in Shawnee Mission, but across education,” Superintendent Mike Schumacher said.
Schumacher said the district wants to give students options without sacrificing their education.
“We need to find some balance in what technology can do for our kids and for our classroom teachers, and what maybe needs to be reined in a little bit,” Schumacher said. “So we’re going to take our time and we’re going to do it right.”
The district plans to form a public work group, giving families and staff a chance to weigh in before any policy is finalized.
Olathe Public Schools presented AI guidelines to its board in April, backing the use of district-approved tools. Director of Technology Advancement and Training Jen Kennedy told the board that teachers vet and monitor every approved tool to track how students use them.
“The plan for moving forward is on AI literacy and responsible use,” Kennedy said.
The district blocks all other open-source AI platforms, citing risks to academic integrity and student data privacy.
Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools built a dedicated website with AI guidelines for families.
As public schools work to define AI’s role in the classroom, an AI-driven school company is also looking at the metro. Alpha School, which operates AI-focused campuses, is assessing whether Kansas City could support a future location.
“We are gathering interest from local families and assessing whether there is enough demand to support a future campus. We have not yet confirmed or announced a Kansas City location, although it is likely in the coming year,” said Sofia Swanson, communications manager for Alpha School Expansion.
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