Fayetteville schools present AI vision after broad community input; speakers urge caution

At a Fayetteville School District Board of Education meeting, district leaders presented a community-informed artificial intelligence vision and next-step recommendations after gathering more than 2,500 survey responses and multiple stakeholder sessions.

The vision, developed with consulting firm iLO Group, calls for ‘‘strategically implement[ing] artificial intelligence solutions that improve operations, support educators and enhance student learning,’’ while protecting learning environments and promoting safe, transparent and responsible use.

District and consulting staff said community feedback showed curiosity about AI alongside caution. Jeremy Grama Skinner, senior fellow with the iLO Group’s AI division, summarized the engagement and findings and described recommended next steps such as publishing the vision broadly, finalizing district guidance for employees, designing professional learning and updating academic-integrity expectations.

The community input the district shared showed high personal familiarity with AI: about 85% of survey respondents reported personal use of AI tools, while roughly 30% said they had used AI in educational settings. Respondents favored a phased, iterative approach to classroom and operational use and asked the district to emphasize AI literacy for students, clear academic-integrity rules and training for teachers.

Parent and University of Arkansas assistant professor Maggie Fernandez addressed the board during public comment and urged the district not to treat generative AI as a calculator-like classroom tool. Fernandez said generative AI ‘‘does not understand’’ and cited research and news reports she said show factual errors, privacy risks and potential harms from chatbots. ‘‘Using GenAI may also lead to low motivation and self efficacy,’’ she said. Fernandez recommended teaching students how AI works and building AI literacy without investing public education dollars in private technologies that could create dependence or surveillance.

Superintendent Dr. Mulford and board members thanked iLO Group for the engagement work and emphasized that district staff will continue training and community outreach. Skinner said the report includes six categories of recommended next steps and sample actions the district can take as it moves from vision to implementation.

The presentation did not include a formal vote. District leaders said they will use the vision and the engagement results to develop guidance and training and will return to the board with proposed policies or rules.

Details and context: the iLO Group engagement included interviews with 16 district leaders, multiple stakeholder group sessions and more than 2,500 survey responses. The report the board reviewed recommends phased, classroom-appropriate pilots, robust professional development, ongoing family engagement and transparent data-privacy protections.

The board asked administration to continue community engagement and to bring proposed guidance and implementation steps to upcoming meetings for consideration.