Okaloosa staff say district is drafting policy on artificial intelligence for classroom use

School district staff told the Okaloosa County School Board at its April 14 workshop that they are drafting a policy to address use of artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT in classrooms and to respond to concerns about academic integrity.

Drafting a policy matters because board-level policy will guide teachers, students and administrators on acceptable AI use, academic integrity, and classroom practice as tools evolve.

Board member remarks raised the issue after public discussion of widespread AI tools. School board member Mr. Destin asked about status: “there was a position, that was taken by the board to adopt a policy with regards to the use of that in the classrooms. Where does that stand?” Staff member Mr. McGinnis responded that the district is “in the midst of drafting that now” and that earlier policies elsewhere were “very bare bone” because the technology changed rapidly. He said the district now has “evolving policies that I think would work well here” and that the plan is to have the policy in place, “hopefully, before we get into the new school year.”

Staff said they have reviewed other districts’ and states’ approaches and intend to adapt policy language that reflects classroom realities and enforcement needs. No formal policy was adopted at the workshop; staff described drafting and review work underway and a target timeline ahead of the next school year.