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Polk County Schools launches controlled AI pilots, plans educator training and data safeguards
Summary
District staff described three controlled AI pilots — a Microsoft Copilot tenant pilot, an Amira Learning literacy pilot, and a teacher training pilot — and outlined data‑security, cost and policy steps before wider classroom rollout.
Polk County School District staff said on March 25 they will begin controlled pilots of artificial‑intelligence tools and develop teacher training and data‑security policies before enabling AI more broadly for staff or students.
Miss Pascoe, who presented the district's AI work, said district leaders planned three initially distinct pilots: a Microsoft Copilot pilot focused on use of content stored in the district's Microsoft tenant (SharePoint, OneDrive) with sensitivity labels to prevent AI access to protected data; a planned Amira Learning pilot for literacy and reading support at middle school level in 2025–26; and a teacher training and ethics pilot with Haines City IB that will focus first on teacher professional learning and then students in spring 2026.
Pascoe said Microsoft Copilot and similar services can surface documents, perform summaries and automate repetitive workflows, but they also carry cost footprints (per‑request or subscription fees) and data‑protection obligations. She warned the board about cyber risks: “I just received a Florida cyber alert that there was an AI attack started January 29, and it was aimed purposely at government agencies because they're assuming that we don't have good cyber practices.” She added, “AI is not open on our devices, and that's for a reason because we didn't have a policy.”
District leaders said the Microsoft tenant pilot will start with a limited set of SharePoint sites (six were mentioned for initial review) and that IT and instructional teams will label sensitive content and test guarded access before any wider rollouts. The Amira Learning pilot will remain in early stages pending policy decisions and curriculum alignment; teacher development pilots will run over the coming summer and school year to establish classroom guidance and ethical expectations for students. Pascoe said the district would consult with unions and leadership, and factor in privacy, procurement cost and cyber‑security controls in each step.
Ending: The board endorsed the cautious, staged approach and staff said they will return pilot results and recommended policy language after initial testing and security reviews.
