San Marcos Unified plans cybersecurity upgrades, pilots AI tutoring tools for all grades
Loading...
Summary
District technology leadership told the board the information-technology team is pursuing a Palo Alto next-gen firewall, strengthening CIS controls, maintaining encrypted off-site backups, and piloting two closed AI platforms for personalized tutoring and rubric-driven writing feedback.
Stephanie Casperson, executive director of technology for San Marcos Unified, briefed the board Jan. 16 on cybersecurity work and the district'9s pilot of artificial-intelligence classroom tools.
Casperson said the district is working to align with the Center for Internet Security (CIS) implementation levels, is out to bid for a Palo Alto next-generation firewall to support Internet-of-Things devices such as door access and cameras, and is conducting cybersecurity simulations that will include payroll and human-resources staff to test incident response.
On backups, she said the district maintains two encrypted backups, with only one online at a time; staff are evaluating a county-office-hosted backup option that offers generator-backed power and higher continuity assurances. Casperson said Christy White'9s county office of education performs annual vulnerability scans and that the district lacks a dedicated cybersecurity position but relies on county resources today.
On student privacy, Casperson reported the district has 475 signed student-privacy agreements for third-party products and a formal process, via the county'9s CITE consortium, to obtain and piggyback agreements when vendors sign a statewide contract.
Casperson described two AI platforms in a classroom pilot, Magic School and SchoolAI, both of which the district said have student-privacy agreements and do not retain district data for training. Teachers can load rubrics into the systems and students can receive rubric-aligned formative feedback; staff stressed teachers remain the "human in the loop." Casperson said, "This AI will not allow them to talk about to chat about something that's not on topic. It will literally say, 'I'm sorry, we're only supposed to talk about Charlotte's Web.'" She said pilots cover all grades and that teachers control which AI features students may access.
District staff said pilots are intended to save teacher time, provide immediate tutoring for students, and support differentiation; the board asked for demos and requested recorded demonstrations be shared with principals and members of the board. Casperson urged that staff and principals receive professional development and that the district continue to guard against hallucinations, bias and improper student-data use.
The board discussed E-Rate cybersecurity pilot funding and the possibility the program could expand to support districts in the future. Casperson said she had completed a CTO mentor program through CITE and described work on a district disaster-recovery plan listing roles, contact information and vendor relationships to minimize downtime and ensure payroll continuity after an event.
Ending District leaders said they will continue the cybersecurity and AI pilots, add training and guidance for staff, and share demos and updates with the board during rollout.
