The Riverside Unified School District Board of Education unanimously approved a new policy at Thursday night’s meeting setting guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by staff and students.
“Students are using AI constantly,” Jessica Salas, the board’s student trustee, said. “I think that it’s great, because we need to teach responsibility, instead of saying things like, ‘Don’t use it at all,’ because it’s going to happen anyway.”
The policy sets nine principles the district should follow when implementing the technology, including that its use should center the needs of students and staff, be ethical and transparent, equitable and accessible, secure and private and used in a manner that ensures accountability and responsibility.
The policy, which recognized both the potential benefits and harms of AI use in the classroom, also directed the superintendent to ensure the use of AI is consistent with other existing policies, and reinforced the district’s commitment to providing professional development for staff, including the community in discussions about the use of AI and the need to continue evaluating the district’s use of the evolving technology
Trustees Jesse Tweed and Dale Kinnear said they had concerns regarding AI’s impact on a child’s developing brain. Tweed said he understood the need to move forward with implementing this technology, but emphasized the importance of keeping safety front and center throughout its rollout.
Kinnear said he first tested ChatGPT months ago, asking it to write an essay and was shocked by the results, leading him to believe the tool can create “lazy thinkers” if not implemented correctly.
“Right now, I see wonderful things that can come out of this, and it just all scares me to death,” Kinnear said.
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Director of Innovation and Technology Steven Dunlap said some employees of the district have already been using AI on their campuses. He said the district started offering an asynchronous course in July that helps educate employees on the use of AI tools. After completing the course, they’re able to use two of Google’s AI tools to support their work.
Lisa Kells, Matthew Gage Middle School principal, said she’s used the tools to cross-reference information between documents and to help update old curriculum.
“The English teacher in me also goes back and double-checks, which I think is important,” Kells said. “But I think that this is not the wave of the future; it is the present.”
Starting next month, Dunlap said the district planned to roll out a pilot program testing the use of AI in select high school classrooms. Dunlap’s hope is that the pilot program will allow the district to gather vital data and feedback that will help create stronger guidelines before opening up the use of AI to all high school students by the start of next year.
“We can formulate ideas and come up with our theories of what it’s going to look like,” Dunlap said. “But until we actually put it in the hands of students, I think that’s where we’re going to learn a lot.”
Moving forward, Board President Brent Lee requested that the district look at making the asynchronous AI training for staff to be made a required workshop. He also asked for an annual review of the AI policy, noting how quickly the technology was evolving.
“It’s our responsibility, just like it was our responsibility when the internet came for students to utilize, to teach them responsible use and how to best use it to supplement their learning,” Lee said. “It’s our job now to teach students how to supplement their use with artificial intelligence.”
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