Coffee County Schools board reviews AI platform purchase, staff training plan

Coffee County Schools administrators on June 26 recommended buying an enterprise subscription to an education-focused artificial intelligence platform to give teachers a vetted toolset and guardrails for classroom use.

The recommendation, presented during a work session, asked the board to approve a one-year enterprise license priced at $31,500 that would cover the district’s schools and allow teachers to assign students to the platform for classroom work. The superintendent and central-office staff described the product as pre-vetted for FERPA and data-privacy compliance and said it includes classroom guardrails that screen personally identifiable information.

Administrators argued the platform would save teacher time on planning and provide a single district-approved AI tool rather than leaving staff to use unvetted public services. “If we give teachers a product that is approved, we avoid a free-for-all where people use ChatGPT or Gemini and we don’t know what’s happening in our buildings,” a presenter said.

The presentation described typical classroom uses: lesson-plan drafting, writing feedback, quiz generation, differentiation, and a student-side set of tools and guardrails. The vendor has certifications the district’s staff cited, including third-party vetting for FERPA compliance and participation in education-technology certification programs. Administrators said they are pursuing either the general fund or possible E-rate ("e plus") funding to cover the subscription but had not finalized the funding source.

Board members asked about pricing and how the subscription scaled to roughly 7,000 students in the district. Administrators said the vendor’s price is based on student count but noted that student licenses do not require universal day-to-day use; a teacher can assign the tool selectively. Administrators also described a rollout plan: board training first, then principal and administrative sessions in July, and teacher training before students return for classes.

No formal purchase vote occurred during the work session. Administrators asked to place the AI subscription on the consent agenda at the next regular meeting to allow time for planning and training.

The discussion also touched on equity and safety. Presenters said the product had features useful for multilingual learners and claimed it can adapt output for students with different language backgrounds. They recommended adopting a single, district-approved platform and providing training and policy guidance rather than leaving staff to adopt disparate public services.

Board members and administrators said they would continue to refine procedures and training materials during the coming weeks so that if the board approves the subscription at a regular meeting, teachers would be trained before the fall semester.