Dearborn board hears plan for districtwide AI policy that emphasizes closed systems and student-data protections

District technology leadership presented a proposed districtwide approach to educational artificial intelligence that prioritizes data control, integration with the district’s Google suite and professional development before classroom rollout.

"We want to look at standardizing our artificial intelligence resource tools so that we're able to use items that are in a closed environment, so that we own the data, we control the data," the presenter said, adding that policy and guidelines will be developed in consultation with a Technology Advisory Committee and a facilitator from Michigan Virtual. The presenter named Gemini as a current tool in the suite that meets the district’s early criteria for integration and data control.

Administrators told trustees they plan to align any use with federal and state student-privacy rules, citing FERPA and the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and stating the district will apply COPPA protections appropriately. They said the steering committee will prepare a matrix describing appropriate use by grade band and a process for teachers or building representatives to request pilots of new tools.

Trustees pressed on practical safeguards: how vendors will be vetted, whether tools will be approved before classroom use, and how the district will preserve students’ critical-thinking skills rather than supplant them. The administration said the Technology Advisory Committee will review candidate tools, recommend pilots, and the district will roll out professional development and digital-citizenship curriculum to teach responsible AI use.

The board’s policy committee is reviewing whether to advance a formal AI policy; no policy vote occurred at this meeting.