Parent alleges delayed notification and says school’s SEL plan appeared copied from ChatGPT

During the public-comment portion of the Anson County Board of Education meeting, Sheena Kendall told the board she was not notified promptly about an April 1 incident involving her child and said a social-emotional learning (SEL) plan provided by the school appeared to be copied directly from ChatGPT.

Kendall told the board that, according to her son, the incident occurred around 9:10 a.m. and that she was not notified until about 1:45 p.m. “I feel like that was mishandling because if an incident happens early on and it includes your child, you are expected to be notified as soon as possible,” Kendall said. She said she initially spoke with a principal designee but was told to return the next day to speak with the principal because the principal was absent that day; Kendall said she later learned the principal had contacted the other student’s parents but not her.

Kendall said she met with school administration and was shown an SEL plan described as a plan for her son. She said the document appeared to be a five-second ChatGPT prompt that had only a few names changed. “When I saw the format, I’m like, I was told this plan would take time and effort, but it didn’t,” Kendall said. She said the plan confused her because her son was not the problem in the incident and she questioned how the plan had been produced and shared with her.

The board’s public-comment announcement at the meeting stated that the board would not address or respond to public comment except for clarification until the superintendent had the opportunity to investigate the presented issues or consult legal counsel if warranted. No board action or immediate response was recorded in the meeting minutes or transcript following Kendall’s remarks.

Kendall’s remarks prompted board members to remind the public of the board’s comment rules and that staff would follow up through the superintendent’s office.