Parents, PTA representatives and technology professionals urged the Fairfax County School Board on Dec. 18 to halt the district's implementation of OpenAI's ChatGPT for Teachers until independent review and clear governance are in place.

At the start of the public-comment period, speakers including Megan Durst, Marie Marin, Benjamin Van Every, Dale Van Wagner, Dr. Jennifer Hudson, Neil Prakash and Jennifer Chang told the board they had not received adequate notice or detail about how the tool would be used in classrooms and raised concerns about privacy, developmental appropriateness and vendor influence.

"We owe it to our children, teachers, and families to exercise our due diligence by suspending use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT for teachers in FCPS classrooms until independent evidence yields clear safety, proven efficacy, appropriate developmental application, and transparent public reporting," parent Megan Durst said during community participation.

Several speakers cited data-privacy risks. "OpenAI says it is secure and FERPA compliant, but where are the detailed auditable policies and nonbiased studies? What happens to our children's data?" Marie Marin asked, urging the board to pause the pilot until families and teachers can review policies.

Tech professionals and parents also questioned whether the pilot had adequate teacher input and training. Benjamin Van Every, identifying himself as a longtime technology executive and FCPS parent, told the board that technology can accelerate learning but cautioned that "early adoption of AI to FCPS does not demonstrate innovation. It demonstrates recklessness with the future of my children."

Several speakers asked the board to require a governance framework that includes transparent data policies, human oversight, independent review and limits on classroom deployment. Dr. Jennifer Hudson framed the request as a call for "governance before large-scale AI use by teachers in our classrooms," listing needed elements such as clear rules, transparent data policies and ongoing monitoring.

The comments came amid other agenda business and will be part of public record as the board proceeds with its January schedule of hearings and staff briefings. Board members did not take a policy vote during the meeting on the ChatGPT pilot but several acknowledged the need for clearer communication with families and additional staff follow-up.

The next procedural step for the board is staff follow-up: providing the community with the pilot's implementation plan, data-protection details and independent-evaluation criteria before any wider rollout.