VDOE frames AI guidance and ramps educator training while districts raise privacy and procurement concerns

Felipso Gilstrap, associate director of the Office of Educational Technology and Classroom Innovation at the Virginia Department of Education, told committee members that state work on artificial intelligence includes an executive order, statewide guidance and the explicit integration of AI concepts into recent Standards of Learning updates.

Gilstrap said Executive Order 30 directed the department to develop AI tools and instructional resources and that VDOE published AI education guidelines intended to promote ethical, privacy‑aware and instructional uses of AI. “The guidelines were then written. They were published in December of ’23,” he said. He added that the guidance stresses that AI should “support education and not replace humans.”

Why it matters: Committee members reported that VDOE has embedded AI literacy into the computer science and English standards of learning and that teacher and leader training on generative AI has been delivered statewide. Keisha Tennessee, the K–12 computer science coordinator at VDOE, explained how AI topics appear across grade bands—from input/output concepts in early grades to supervised and unsupervised learning vocabulary in upper elementary and deeper computational concepts in secondary coursework.

VDOE staff described training partnerships and pilot programs. The department ran an in‑person “train‑the‑trainer” program with Germanna Community College that reached 360 educators and a leadership workshop with the Virginia Association of School Superintendents and Advanced Learning Partnerships that formed 16 cohorts; VDOE reported high participant satisfaction and increased superintendent comfort with AI integration after multi‑day workshops. Dr. Meg Foley and other staff noted 89% of participants rated a recent workshop excellent and 100% requested additional training.

District tech and instructional leaders supported training but raised procurement and privacy questions. John Mustachio, E‑rate coordinator and K–12 specialist in the VDOE Office of Cybersecurity and Risk Management, acknowledged division concerns about personally identifiable information (PII) and recommended a procurement checklist and vendor‑evaluation criteria. Several district leaders said they were cautious about opening public AI chat tools without safeguards. One district leader noted local practice: “We are very lean in implementing AI because of that fear of them putting in private information.”

VDOE staff said the department cannot formally endorse specific commercial AI vendors under current policy but will work on checklists, readiness guides and procurement best practices with cybersecurity staff and external partners. The department also highlighted examples from divisions (Louisa, Albemarle) that piloted responsible AI adoption and invited members to review resources produced by VAS and other partners.

Ending: The committee welcomed the continued rollout of standards, guidelines and educator training while asking VDOE to return draft procurement criteria and parent‑facing resources to address privacy, classroom practice and cross‑division coherence.