District unveils draft AI guidelines, plans phased rollout and teacher micro‑credentialing

Chief Academic Officer Paula Wilkins presented a multi‑phase draft of artificial intelligence guidelines the district has developed with input from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and internal teams. Wilkins said the guidance is intentionally framed as guidelines, not a static policy, because AI tools evolve rapidly and policy language can become obsolete. The district’s phased plan focuses first on adult training and infrastructure, then on micro‑credentialing and professional learning, and then on controlled student access with high school students first to pilot broader platform availability.

Wilkins described a virtual six‑part professional development series for the coming school year covering basic AI literacy, generative AI, ethical use, and alignment to the district’s portrait of a graduate and durable skills. She said staff already have access to certain AI tools (for example Microsoft Copilot and vendor tools) while student access is limited for monitoring and safety reasons. Wilkins said the district’s goal is to model responsible use with adult staff, build capacity, and then progressively open student access once staff training and administrative controls are in place.

Board members asked about whether school codes of conduct and existing acceptable‑use policies address AI behavior. Superintendent and other staff agreed that policy language should crosswalk to guidelines or administrative regulations that can be updated more frequently than board policy. Board Member Wood asked for explicit language in student conduct and liaison processes to address negative harms (for example, misuse of someone’s image or voice); Wilkins and staff said they will check the crosswalks and incorporate relevant protections. Board Member Wood and others recommended aligning district training with local higher‑education partners so students entering college encounter consistent expectations.

Wilkins said the district is building a district collaborative and exploring NCDPI micro‑credentialing courses that would allow staff to demonstrate competency through badge‑style credentials. The district plans job‑embedded professional learning for staff, and high‑school pilots for student access next year as the first cohort to receive controlled platform access and digital‑citizenship instruction. The board did not take any formal vote on the guidelines; staff described them as an administrative approach that will return with communications and supporting documentation.