{"id":117981,"date":"2026-07-24T17:12:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T17:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/117981\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T17:12:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T17:12:14","slug":"students-convene-to-hammer-out-ai-bill-of-rights-for-schools-the-74","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/117981\/","title":{"rendered":"Students Convene to Hammer Out AI Bill of Rights for Schools \u2013 The 74"},"content":{"rendered":"

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n

BOSTON \u2014 Tatiyana Reaves got into trouble recently for writing a one-syllable word \u2014 and not the one you\u2019d think.<\/p>\n

Taking a computer class at her Fayetteville, N.C., high school, she handed in a paper with the offending word: whilst<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The teacher] called me over, and she was like, \u2018I don\u2019t want to see you using AI,<\/a>\u2019 \u201d the 16-year-old rising junior recalled. If she\u2019d asked, Reaves would have said she didn\u2019t use AI to write the piece \u2014 that\u2019s just the way she talks.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it was kind of tense,\u201d said Reaves, \u201cand I was definitely upset because she gave me a zero for that assignment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

High school students, steeped for nearly the past four years in generative artificial intelligence, face this reality daily, attending class largely without a set of agreed-upon guidelines. Over the weekend, a small group of students came together to hammer out a few basic principles for the technology, something akin to an AI Bill of Rights.<\/p>\n

Sponsored by a group that includes an MIT research initiative<\/a> and a national superintendents\u2019 association<\/a>, 100 students from all 50 states gathered here to debate a first-of-its-kind set of recommendations, to be shared with district leaders nationwide as AI proliferates rapidly in the lives of both students and teachers.<\/p>\n

The nonprofit Day of AI<\/a>, which brought the group together, didn\u2019t make the final recommendations immediately available \u2014 they\u2019ll be released in coming weeks. But students told The 74 in interviews they are concerned about a host of problems: cheating, transparency, hallucinations, cognitive offloading, mental health and environmental factors, among others.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

RelatedThe End of Homework? Teachers Grapple With Cheating in the Age of AI<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Two students from every state debated and ultimately approved the recommendations by a Senate-style roll call vote on Sunday at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, a museum and conference center that features a full-scale, nearly exact replica<\/a> of the U.S. Senate Chamber where Kennedy served from 1962 until his death in 2009.<\/p>\n

\"\"Missouri student Jaelyn Jensen speaks from the podium during final debate on Sunday at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. (Greg Toppo)<\/p>\n

Despite the democratic nature of the proceedings, Day of AI refused to grant The 74 access over three days to any of the student debates, save for the closing speeches and final vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The organization also clamped down on the text of the proposal, refusing to release a draft that students spent nearly three days discussing freely.<\/p>\n

By the time of Sunday\u2019s debate and final vote, nearly 100 students sat in replicas of U.S. senators\u2019 seats, paging through their copies of the bill as staff members and security personnel closely guarded the proceedings. A reporter who picked up a stray copy of the bill on an upholstered bench had the paper quickly snatched away by a staffer, while another swept the area for more copies, gathering them up and tucking them under an arm.<\/p>\n

\"\"North Carolina students Dillian Campbell, center, and Tatiyana Reaves, right, listen as a student speaks about proposed AI recommendations. (Greg Toppo)<\/p>\n

During the proceedings, a few participants called the proposal flawed or incomplete and even, at times, incoherent \u2014 one student referred to it as \u201ca block of Swiss cheese.\u201d But in the end he voted \u201cYea.\u201d In all, 83 students approved the measure, with 15 opposed \u2014 two students weren\u2019t present for the final vote.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s an easy way out\u2019<\/p>\n

In the students\u2019 conception, Al literacy instruction should be mandatory as soon as they start using devices in the classroom. The lessons should focus not just on appropriate academic use but on misinformation, plagiarism, bias in Al systems, privacy, environmental impacts and how Al really works.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

RelatedWhy the \u2018Middle Path\u2019 of AI Literacy May Be the Future of English Class<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Ethan Liu, 17, a recent high school graduate from Morgantown, W.Va., said the recommendations are \u201cpretty fair,\u201d especially the section on students. \u201cWe basically outline that AI, with the proper supervision, is a great tool for brainstorming and studying,\u201d he said. Liu was one of several students who spoke to The 74 during breaks in the deliberations.<\/p>\n

Liu recalled asking ChatGPT to create sets of practice problems. \u201cThat was one of the best ways that I would use to study for a test.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he said using AI to answer test questions or to generate art, for instance, is a bridge too far. The guidelines, Liu said, suggest that AI should be a tool \u201cto help kids truly understand the topic without just spoon-feeding them the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Ethan Liu<\/p>\n

In candid conversations throughout the weekend, students said AI is basically turning their school experience upside down, simultaneously supercharging their ability to learn while threatening to derail many of their classmates \u2014 and sowing mistrust between students and teachers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an easy way out,\u201d said James Baxter, 14, from St. George, Utah. \u201cPeople like to know hard things, but learning it is a different story for most people.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he relies on tools like Google\u2019s Notebook LM to help him create study guides, Dillian Campbell, 17, a rising senior in Fayetteville, N.C., said that when teachers pass out assignments, he most often sees classmates simply pull out their phones and snap a photo, asking AI to do the rest.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

RelatedWhen It Comes to Developing AI Rules, Who Asked the Students?<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

He recalled a math teacher telling students, \u201cI don\u2019t care if you use AI, but if you fail your test, that\u2019s on you because you don\u2019t really know the work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Jaelyn Jensen<\/p>\n

Jaelyn Jensen, 17, a rising senior in Lee\u2019s Summit, Mo., noted that early on in discussions, the group concluded that while limiting AI use for young students is crucial, giving middle- and high-schoolers more autonomy with AI makes sense. Teens, she said, need \u201cto make their own decisions, to learn from their own mistakes with AI.\u201d But schools must also teach them how to use it responsibly \u201cand let them know that it is something that is going to be in their future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lucia Herrera, 17, a classmate of Jensen\u2019s from Missouri, said AI has even crept into the speech and debate world, with debaters asking ChatGPT to help them respond to questions about their cases \u2014 this, in a world where critical thinking and original voice are a key to success.<\/p>\n

While she can make a case for AI aiding in research, Herrera said, \u201cI think it just takes all of the human out of [it].\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

RelatedAI \u2018Companions\u2019 Are Patient, Funny, Upbeat \u2014 and Probably Rewiring Kids\u2019 Brains<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Bihmanji Acho, 16, a rising junior from St. Cloud, Minn., said she\u2019s most troubled by the ways in which she sees AI undermining interpersonal relationships. She recalled attending a recent summit in which adults said they use AI \u201cat like two a.m. as a therapist. And I just don\u2019t \u2026\u201d She paused for a moment. \u201cIt hurts my heart. I feel like it hurts my heart to hear that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Tatiyana Reaves<\/p>\n

While \u2014 or is it whilst? \u2014 many might believe that AI offers a crutch for low-skill students, Reaves said we should think again: Many of those who use AI most are \u201csuper-smart kids that are, like, just checked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

That loss of student agency might be among the most pressing problems AI presents, said Gyimah Whitaker, superintendent<\/a> of the Decatur, Ga., school district. That results in fewer students able to think critically and take risks.<\/p>\n

Whitaker, who chaperoned two Georgia students to the event, said her 5,400-student district proudly embraces project-based learning<\/a> and the rigorous International Baccalaureate<\/a> curriculum. But AI, Whitaker said, undermines the values in both systems, driving students toward completion rather than helping them master difficult tasks.<\/p>\n

\"\"Gyimah Whitaker<\/p>\n

Luckily, young people are, for now at least, fighting back. She noted that students in her district\u2019s IB program \u201ccan be truly offended\u201d if a teacher uses AI to grade their paper. They\u2019ve even proposed a \u201cthree-strikes-and-you\u2019re-out\u201d AI rule \u2014 for teachers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To be sure, the students urged AI literacy for teachers, and Cynthia Breazeal, who directs MIT\u2019s RAISE research program, said that\u2019s no longer optional.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Actually, the advent of generative AI may require more than just literacy. To truly combat the technology, she said, schools may need to adopt an entirely different pedagogical model, one that encourages students to more deeply engage with material.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

RelatedAt These Universities, Using AI Isn\u2019t Shunned \u2014 It\u2019s a Graduation Requirement<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

She invoked legendary MIT mathematician and computer scientist Seymour Papert<\/a>, who co-developed the Logo programming language in the 1960s and founded what became MIT\u2019s Media Lab. Papert helped popularize the term \u201chard fun<\/a>\u201d to describe the productive struggle learning something complex often requires. In his conception, children should be encouraged to build things and embrace difficulty, not shun or outsource it. Upon hearing a teacher describe the difficulties a child encountered programming in Logo once in the 1980s, he concluded, \u201cI have no doubt that this kid called the work fun because it was hard rather than in spite of being hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018A Sputnik moment\u2019?<\/p>\n

Chase Johnson, 15, a rising junior in Kenai, Alaska, uses AI \u201ca lot\u201d in his personal life. These days, he said, it\u2019s helping him develop a business to automate processes such as customer service.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As if to prove it, he\u2019ll pull out his phone to show off no fewer than 10 apps, all of which allow him to explore AI in different ways. \u201cI do a lot of research,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Chase Johnson shows off a few of the AI apps on his phone. Though AI is banned at his high school in Kenai, Alaska, he relies on it for personal use. (Greg Toppo)\u00a0<\/p>\n

But in his high school, he said, generative artificial intelligence is largely banned because of students using it to cheat.<\/p>\n

Some of that responsibility should be borne by teachers, he said: In writing, for instance, instead of assigning essays that are easily outsourced to a bot, teachers should assign research projects that require students to present their findings in front of a class. \u201cYou can\u2019t cheat your way out of that,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

Sarah Zahka, a rising junior in Weston, Fla., said she\u2019s not above using AI when needed. \u201cIf I\u2019m stuck on a math problem, I\u2019ll ask it, \u2018Hey AI, help me solve this problem step-by-step.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

While she\u2019s worried about AI causing students to lose foundational skills, sometimes she simply needs help brainstorming. In writing, Zahka said, she might ask an AI bot how to approach a topic, \u201cbut then I\u2019ll write ethically on my own. Although I\u2019m going to sound like a teenager writing an essay and I might not get the grade that the cheaters get, ultimately I\u2019ll know what level I\u2019m at.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff Riley, the former Massachusetts commissioner of education<\/a> who now leads Day of AI, said he\u2019s both excited by the technology\u2019s possibilities \u2014\u00a0and a bit terrified. He predicted that AI could \u201ckickstart the next revolution in education,\u201d particularly with its ability to help teachers differentiate instruction and personalize learning. \u201cBut there\u2019s some bad stuff with it too, right? Bias, voice clones, deep fakes, hallucinations, companions, energy concerns. The list goes on and on and on.\u201d<\/p>\n

While deadly serious, he said, those concerns aren\u2019t activating enough adults \u2014 this should, by all rights, be \u201ca Sputnik moment<\/a>\u201d pushing schools and communities forward, but he sees little urgency. He noted that in 2029, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development\u2019s international PISA exam will for the first time assess AI literacy<\/a>. \u201cI can almost guarantee you right now: American schoolchildren, 15-year-olds, are going to score 30th in the world on AI literacy \u2014 on a technology that was largely created in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the flight back to Atlanta on Sunday night, Whitaker, the Georgia superintendent, recalled that the two students she accompanied told her they\u2019d split their vote on the recommendations, one approving the plan and one voting No. The one who opposed the measure told her the proposal \u201cdidn\u2019t meet the mark completely\u201d and needed more work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s exciting,\u201d Whitaker admitted. \u201cWhat excites me is that our children are wrestling just like we are \u2014 and that level of inquiry as a superintendent is what you want to see in students every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did you use this article in your work?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We\u2019d love to hear how The 74\u2019s reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers. Tell us how<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter BOSTON \u2014 Tatiyana…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":117982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[24,25,7720,10325,2885,4576,66],"class_list":["post-117981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ai","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-cheating","tag-critical-thinking","tag-high-school","tag-k-12-education","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}