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Board reinforces student‑privacy and enrollment protections, considers student rotation and AI/screen‑time policies
Summary
The board’s policy committee reported policy votes reaffirming that outside agencies cannot enter schools without a judicial warrant and that Atlanta Public Schools will enroll students without asking citizenship status. The committee is also advancing youth civic‑engagement absences, AI guidance and classroom screen‑time discussions.
At a joint community meeting, at‑large board representative Alfred Shibi Brooks described recent policy committee work that the full board brought forward: measures to prevent outside agencies from entering school buildings without a judicial warrant and to reaffirm district practice of enrolling students without asking about immigration or citizenship status.
"We do not allow outside, even governmental, agencies to go into our school without a judicial warrant," Brooks said, adding the committee had moved several items to final read and the board voted on them at a prior meeting. He also said the committee voted unanimously to reinforce that the district will enroll all students and not ask about citizenship status upon enrollment.
Brooks and other board members described additional committee priorities: developing an AI policy that clarifies allowable uses of generative and assistive tools for teachers and students, updating cybersecurity and acceptable‑use rules, and exploring a youth civic‑engagement initiative that would allow up to two excused absences for students to attend government or civic meetings with parental permission.
Brooks and colleagues emphasized training and clarity for front‑office staff on documentation and visitor protocols; Lisa, a community member, asked for more detailed training so clerks can reliably distinguish approved from unapproved documentation in high‑stress situations.
The board said these policy changes are intended to protect student safety and access to education while balancing legal obligations; the policies described were advanced from committee to final read and were voted on by the board at its prior meeting.
