Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ai Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Colton Joint Unified unveils district AI guide, lists vetted classroom tools and parent workshops
Summary
Colton Joint Unified officials introduced a district AI guide at a community cabinet, described vetted tools (Gemini, NotebookLM, Canva, Adobe Express), outlined teacher and family guidelines to protect student data, and announced a parent workshop series culminating March 4.
Dr. Frank Miranda, superintendent of the Colton Joint Unified School District, introduced a new district AI guide at the districtcommunity cabinet, saying the handbook is intended to "guide the ethical, responsible, and equitable use of AI in our district." Jamal Boyce, the districtChief Technology Officer, and curriculum staff demonstrated classroom tools and described how the district vetted them for student-data safety.
Why it matters: The guidebook, the presenters said, establishes district-level guardrails for how teachers and families may use AI in instruction and communications and is already being shared with other districts. Officials said the guide aims to protect student privacy while helping students build skills such as prompt engineering that will be useful in future workplaces.
Boyce and district staff described specific tools approved for classroom use, including Gemini, NotebookLM, Canva and Adobe Express, which the task force vetted to ensure compliance with student-data protections. "We have guidelines for teachers that are very clearly defined on how we can use AI appropriately with students, all the while protecting their privacy," a staff presenter said. Boyce demonstrated NotebookLM, noting it can be used as an "enclosed" notebook where teachers preload sources (PDFs, URLs, videos) so student queries draw only from vetted materials.
"If students aren't learning these skills early, they will fall behind," Derek Kreiman of USEL Youth Robotics said during the presentation, echoed by district staff who emphasized the guide includes both teacher and family-facing materials. A curriculum program specialist who shared a classroom case study said classes that used NotebookLM showed higher student confidence and better exam outcomes.
The task force, which worked with legal counsel, produced four sets of guidelines (teacher, student, family and administrative) and a set of icons that indicate whether AI is allowed, limited or not allowed on assignments. The guidebook is posted on the district resource hub at cjusd.net/ai and is being translated into Spanish, officials said. Parents are invited to follow district communications on ParentSquare; the district also listed a three-part parent workshop series with the final session, described as an "AI smackdown," scheduled for March 4.
What officials said next: Miranda closed the session by linking the AI work to broader district goals for achievement, equity and student readiness. Officials asked attendees to try the NotebookLM demos on district Chromebooks and to provide feedback through the contact information listed in the guide.
