Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ai Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District outlines AI guardrails, training and a NotebookLM policy assistant; chosen for state's Spark AI pilot
Summary
District technology staff described vendor risk assessments, restricted student access to consumer GenAI, a NotebookLM repository for administrators, and said Manatee County was selected as one of six districts for Florida’s Spark AI pilot to develop policy‑driven and instructional pilots over 15–18 months.
District technology and instructional leaders told the board they have been building a secure AI ecosystem, training, and governance around staff and (where permitted) student use of artificial intelligence.
Scott Hansen and colleagues said the district adopted NEOLA-guided AI policy in March 2025, maintains secure Google Workspace and Microsoft tenants that do not share district data to train external models, and uses a vendor risk assessment process that has led the district to disable AI features in some third‑party products. Staff described data‑loss prevention tools, annual security training, and a requirement that teachers give prior consent for permitted student AI activities.
District staff said students currently do not have internal access to some consumer GenAI products (Gemini Pro and NotebookLM are turned off for students) but staff and administrators have restricted licenses for specific tools. Hansen said the district will launch a NotebookLM‑based policy/procedure assistant this summer that will search roughly 250 vetted sources — district policies, handbooks, state statutes and manuals — and return cited answers for administrators without pulling external web content.
Hansen and Jensen also announced the district had been selected as one of six Florida school districts to join the Spark initiative led by Impact Florida and the University of Florida. The Spark cohort will network with UF, Microsoft and Google, run policy and instructional pilots over 15–18 months, and receive three site visits at no travel cost to the district.
Board members asked about safety risks, vendor vetting and whether pilot guardrails would limit district flexibility. Staff said the Spark process will allow district‑specific pilots and that guidance from Senate Bill 482 and the statewide task force will shape guardrails. No formal action was taken; staff will proceed with readiness assessment and pilot planning and return with plans and KPIs.
