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Board approves multiple policy changes, including digital deception (deepfakes) policy to be posted to community
Summary
The Bedford School Board approved a package of policy changes and withdrawals (several routine or procedural) and adopted a policy addressing deepfakes and digital impersonation; the district plans to distribute the deepfakes policy to families and include it in enrollment materials.
At its meeting the Bedford School Board approved several policy updates and withdrawals and adopted a policy aimed at digital deception (described in the meeting as a “deepfakes” policy).
Board members moved through a series of policy votes. The board approved changes to Policy AD (philosophy of the district); withdrew Policy VIA and BBH (recognition and multi-district SAU organization/operation); and approved Policy BBA (school board powers and duties), Policy BEC (nonpublic sessions), and Policy BDC (policy development procedures). The board also approved Policy BCA with a wording change requested by members (changing a reference from “ethics” to “expectations”).
On the digital-deception item, one board member asked whether the policy should add emotional harm to the list of harms; another noted that the policy’s third-offense language already includes "imputational, emotional, or physical harm." After a brief nonpublic discussion was referenced, a board member said the plan would be to send the adopted deepfakes policy to the community immediately ("send this out en masse to the community") and reference it in enrollment materials. A motion to accept the policy passed.
Board members also discussed the district’s use of the NHSBA policy service as a vendor for policy development and noted that the district sometimes relies on the vendor’s legal team; the board left the vendor reference in the procedure while acknowledging it could change in future revisions.
Votes at a glance: the transcript records motions and unanimous voice approvals for the policies described, but it does not provide roll-call vote tallies for each motion on the record.
