Marblehead school leaders presented a districtwide plan Wednesday to integrate artificial intelligence tools into teaching while reinforcing academic integrity for students.

The initiative centers on a newly convened AI steering committee of teachers, librarians and administrators that spent the prior school year drafting guidance and professional development. "A student should be able to say the work presented is my own unless otherwise indicated," Assistant Superintendent Julia Ferreira told the committee as she summarized the updated academic integrity expectations adopted in the handbooks.

The nut graf: The committee framed AI as a classroom tool to be managed, not banned, updating handbooks to treat AI-related work under existing academic-integrity rules, launching staff training and promising family communications and continued professional development.

Committee members said the district focused training first at the middle- and high-school levels where usage has been heaviest, collected staff and student data over the previous year, and used that research to build an educator-led staff development program launched Aug. 25. Ferreira said the steering committee included high-school teachers, librarians and middle-school staff who helped design the materials educators used at convocation.

The district will not create a separate AI policy; instead, staff said, AI use is covered by academic integrity rules already recorded in student handbooks. Ferreira said the revised handbook language clarifies that plagiarism includes "all other types of on-site and work that [are] not one's own," and that violations recorded in middle or high school carry forward as part of existing academic-integrity procedures.

On classroom practice, the committee recommended clear assignment-level directions: teachers should specify whether AI may be used, how it must be cited, or that no AI is allowed for a given assignment. Ferreira highlighted citation tools already taught in classes, such as NoodleTools, and said the district will provide templates instructors can use to state "AI parameters" for assignments.

The steering committee and administration also described tools under review to help teachers detect potential misuse and to provide feedback to students. Ferreira said the district is "exploring" third-party tools and partnering with higher-education contacts and professional conferences to expand staff knowledge.

Committee members asked about DESE guidance and external resources; Ferreira said DESE issued guidance in December 2024 and that the district's work aligns with that direction. She said the district will continue the AI steering committee this year, expand school-level supports, and circulate a family communication explaining expectations and opt-out or citation procedures.

The presentation closed with a plan for ongoing professional learning, school-level support groups and continued committee meetings to refine practice and respond to tools that are "evolving so quickly." Ending: The committee will receive follow-up materials and a family notice explaining the handbook changes and how teachers will set assignment-specific AI rules.