Florence 1 adopts AI guidelines and endorses districtwide AI platforms for instruction and operations
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Summary
The Florence 1 Board approved district AI guidelines and a list of AI platforms after a multipresenter briefing describing classroom uses, safeguards, literacy training and vendor vetting by a Spark AI cohort.
The Florence 1 Board of Trustees on a unanimous voice vote approved districtwide artificial intelligence guidelines and a set of AI platform services recommended by a staff Spark AI cohort.
The guidelines, presented by Superintendent Dr. O'Malley and members of the Spark AI team, lay out acceptable uses in classrooms, procedures for vetting and listing approved tools on the district website, expectations for teachers to green-light AI assignments, and planned AI literacy training for staff and students.
The board considered the item after a 30-minute presentation and demonstrations by staff. "We will still have traditional assignments with no AI, but we'll have enhanced AI assignments where AI will be a learning partner," Dr. O'Malley said during the presentation, emphasizing both classroom and administrative uses.
Why it matters: The policy change frames AI as an instructional and operational tool rather than an outright classroom ban and creates a vendor-review group (the Spark AI cohort) to vet platforms for privacy, data handling and classroom appropriateness. The district intends to publish an approved-platform list and embed AI-use expectations into the student code of conduct in a later meeting.
Key details from the presentation
- Purpose and scope: The guidelines implement the board-approved policy JICE and are intended to define acceptable uses, prohibited uses (including impersonation, harassment, academic violations and unauthorized data collection), and review cycles. Dr. O'Malley said the district will review the guidelines at least annually and that principals will lead yearly local reviews with teachers.
- Approved tools and pilots: Presenters described several AI tools proposed for district use, including Google Gemini (for teacher/administrative support), Magic School AI for elementary engagement, Conmigo (Khan Academy's AI tutor), Adobe Creative Cloud AI features, Suno.AI for song generation and an audio-enhancement translation product intended for language-immersion classrooms.
- Classroom use cases and safeguards: Catherine Faustin, introducing Google Gemini to the board, said the tool "can help instructional leaders generate presentations, take notes during meetings, summarize research" and that students could use it to "deepen understanding with customized practice materials." Amy Knight demonstrated Conmigo's stepwise tutoring, showing that the tool prompts students rather than simply supplying answers.
- Data and privacy: Dr. O'Malley said district staff are seeking platforms that do not collect or transmit personally identifiable information without safeguards and that unacceptable uses must be reported to administration immediately.
- Professional development and operations: The district plans AI literacy training for educators and students, and administrators intend to use AI for administrative efficiency, policy compliance checks and stakeholder communication.
Board discussion and vote
Board members praised the district's approach. One board member said the district's focus on integrating AI responsibly was "refreshing" and consistent with preparing students for future jobs. The motion to approve the guidelines and the recommended platform services was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote; the transcript records the result as "Those in favor, please say I" with no numerical roll-call provided.
What happens next
The administration will publish the approved-platform list on the district website (a page titled F1S artificial intelligence was shown in the presentation) and will return to the board next month with a proposed code-of-conduct amendment to incorporate AI use into student discipline policy. Principals will run yearly reviews of approved tools with teachers, and staff will continue piloting classroom implementations and a website chatbot prototype for parent/staff queries.
Ending note
Presenters asked the board for continued support of professional learning and technology procurement timelines; superintendent and staff emphasized the pilot nature of some tools and committed to revising the list and guidance as use and risks emerge.