Highlands County outlines guided-use approach to AI in classrooms

Ian Bellinger, the district director of MIS, told the School Board the district is preparing teachers and students to use artificial intelligence as an instructional tool rather than a content generator.

"Artificial intelligence is not going away. It is a huge part of our world," Bellinger said, framing the update as a mix of professional development, device-level protections and classroom guidance. He described a three-part approach: train staff through instructional-technology resource teachers and a planned summer institute; limit student AI use to teacher-approved categories such as research assistance, data analysis, language translation, writing assistance and accessibility; and apply security measures that reduce the risk of exposing personally identifiable information.

Bellinger said recent upgrades to district Google accounts and Google Classroom integrate vetted AI tools that can help teachers level text and draft rubrics. He emphasized steering student traffic to Gemini for Education because the district believes it provides stronger protections and a "walled garden" aligned with adopted curriculum materials. "By using guided learning mode, Gemini transforms from an answer engine into a helpful tutor," a presentation described during the update.

Board members asked about how staff would be trained and how classroom workloads and grading practices might change if AI is used to automate some tasks. Bellinger said the district is providing one-on-one coaching, lunch-and-learn sessions and grade-level collaboration through six instructional-technology resource teachers, and that a summer institute is planned to expand that training. He cautioned that automation should not lead to excessive assigned work for students and stressed that teachers must continue to hold assignments to standards-based workload expectations.

Bellinger also summarized governance and security steps: the district's policy adopted last year allows limited student AI use with teacher permission; the district has controls to prevent PII from being uploaded; and the IT team can redirect student requests for external chat services to managed, education-focused tools. He encouraged continued staff training and careful fact-checking when AI is used as a research aid.

What's next: the district will continue hands-on professional development and monitor use as tools (and vendor integrations) evolve.