Building an AI Policy

Share / assign

Why it works

As AI use spreads, inconsistent and unstated rules create confusion, inequity, and privacy risk. A clear policy that defines acceptable use, protects student data, aligns with FERPA and COPPA, and is written in plain language gives teachers, students, and families a shared, teachable standard rather than a patchwork of individual practices.

The research: Guidance on school AI policy; FERPA and COPPA student-data-privacy requirements.

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

The core activity: draft the core of an AI policy

The team leaves with the core of a plain-language AI policy and a plan to teach and share it.

Define, in plain language, what AI use is acceptable and what is not.
State the student data privacy rule: no personal data in non-approved tools.
List approved or default tools.
Plan how the policy is taught to students and shared with families.

Simple and teachable beats long and ignoredA policy no one can remember does nothing. Write it so a student can state it, a teacher can enforce it, and a family can understand it.

Facilitator notes

Keep it short and plain.
Cover privacy explicitly, and keep it consistent across classrooms.
Plan the teaching and communication, not just the document.

A policy filed away is not a policyIf the AI rules live in a document no one reads, every classroom drifts to its own rules. The teaching and communication are the policy.

Adapt it

Elementary: simple device and honesty norms, teacher-use focus.
Secondary: detailed student-use policy and integrity expectations.
All settings: privacy and plain language throughout.

Participant handout

One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

K12 Academics · Professional Learning

Building an AI Policy: simple, teachable, consistent

A policy people can use: acceptable use, privacy, approved tools, and how it is taught and shared.

Acceptable and unacceptable AI use:
The student data privacy rule:
Approved or default tools:
How it is taught to students:
How it is shared with families:

Make it stick

Short, taught, consistent:

Keep the policy short and actually taught.
Cover privacy explicitly.
Bring the draft to a leadership or PLC conversation.

Common questions

Should policy ban AI or allow it?

Neither extreme works well. The strongest policies define acceptable and unacceptable uses clearly, by context, and explain the reasoning, rather than a flat ban or a free-for-all.

What must a school AI policy cover?

Acceptable use, academic integrity expectations, student data privacy (FERPA and COPPA), approved tools, and how the rules are taught to students and shared with families.

Who should write it?

A small group including teachers and leaders, so it is practical and enforceable, then taught to students and communicated to families.