Haverford school board approves two AI contracts after hours of public opposition

The Haverford Township School District board on Thursday approved one-year contracts for two artificial-intelligence classroom tools — School AI Classroom Pro ($12,999) and Brisk Premium ($22,260) — after more than an hour of public comment and sustained questioning from board members about student safety, equity and data privacy.

Supporters of delaying the purchases argued the tools risked harming student learning, would be difficult to police, and could expose student data. "Please vote no on a School AI and Brisk," said Patrick Berlin, a district resident, arguing that "learning is a productive struggle and AI removes the friction that creates real learning." Several parents and students cited studies they said showed cognitive and equity harms, and called for a full technology audit before purchase.

Administrators and several board members countered that the tools are meant to be resources, not replacements for teachers, and said the district will roll them out with training, opt-in teacher use, and annual contract reviews. "The purpose in the plan ... is improving academic excellence in an evolving world," Superintendent Dr. Hayes said, framing the purchases as part of a multi-year strategic plan with guardrails and training. District staff emphasized the contracts are one-year agreements and said the administration will review usage, gather teacher lesson plans and evaluate measurable student outcomes before deciding on renewal.

Board members pressed administrators on multiple fronts — whether vendors can disable features (administration said some vendor features can be turned off), how student-facing chatbot elements would be restricted, and how Brisk's teacher-facing feedback and "replay" features interact with Google-hosted student documents. Administration said teachers will review and approve any AI-generated feedback before it is returned to students and that Brisk functions as a teacher-efficiency tool that provides rubric-based, draft-level suggestions for teachers to edit.

Several board members also asked how the district would reconcile teacher opt-in with classroom equity. Administrators pointed to existing professional-learning communities and shared assessment rubrics that limit variability in major course assessments; they also said that individual teachers may opt in to the tools for supplementary instruction or differentiation.

The board voted 5–3 to approve the School AI Classroom Pro contract (roll call: Flagler no; Lee yes; McCay yes; Schwarz no; Snider yes; Wedderman yes; Sheldon no; King yes). Later, after a separate discussion about Brisk’s features, scope and pricing (Brisk pricing quoted by vendor based on an enrollment figure of 3,800 secondary students), the board approved Brisk Premium by the same 5–3 margin (Flagler no; Lee yes; McCay yes; Schwarz no; Snider yes; Wedderman yes; Sheldon no; King yes).

Public commenters urged the board to halt purchases until the district completes a full tech audit and a clear policy framework. Maria Kiaroso, who said she previously served on the district’s tech roundtable, urged a moratorium and a community-facing audit, saying the district had not answered concerns about content moderation and developer practices. Students who spoke, including River Schwarz and Adel Ka Shabbab, highlighted classroom impacts, data and environmental concerns.

Administrators said the district has been working since a 2024 tech audit and subsequent working group to develop acceptable-use policies and training, and that the current contracts would be the start of a longer, monitored process. They said the district plans to limit district-device access to approved vendor tools and to train teachers via tech mentors and department-specific sessions before student-facing use.

The board’s approvals do not immediately expand district-wide mandatory use; administrators said teacher application would be opt-in and that the district will report back with usage metrics, lesson-plan examples and measurable outcomes to inform any renewal decisions. The board also discussed mechanisms to hold teachers accountable for integrating ethics and critical-thinking lessons each time AI is used in class.

The district will finalize contracts pending solicitor review and monitor use during the coming school year. The board’s next regular action meeting is scheduled for July 16, 2026.