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Parents urge Malden School Committee to halt CourseMojo pilot over data and consent concerns
Summary
Multiple parents and the City Council president asked the Malden School Committee to pause the CourseMojo AI pilot, saying it lacks success metrics, does not let teachers monitor student work, and may involve data-mining; the Committee took no formal action on the pilot at the Jan. 12 meeting.
Public commenters at the Malden School Committee meeting on Jan. 12 urged the district to stop or pause use of CourseMojo, a classroom AI pilot, unless the district adopts clearer evaluation criteria and parental consent protocols.
Dr. Liz Tonogbanua opened public comment by saying she was “calling on the district to halt the use of Course Mojo,” arguing the pilot lacks control groups, defined success thresholds and a plan to measure effectiveness. Caitlin Peale Sloan said families report that “work in Coursemojo is not tracked and teachers cannot see what they are writing,” and expressed concern about continued rollout. Amanda Linehan, Ward 3 and City Council president, said she understands both the potential and risks of AI but worried “the company is data mining our children” and objected to students being selected for pilots without explicit parental consent.
Other parents echoed those concerns and called for a broader pause and a stricter consent model. Josie Morway said a coalition of parents, students and teachers “want a complete prohibition of generative AI tools” unless pilots are limited to students and families who opt in and researchers can provide evidence of safety and efficacy.
The transcript of the meeting records these public comments but does not record a direct response from the superintendent or a School Committee motion to change CourseMojo policy. Superintendent Sippel’s presentation at the same meeting focused on a proposed five-year strategic plan and did not include a district decision about CourseMojo. The Committee did not vote on the pilot during the session.
Why it matters: districts that adopt AI tools for instruction must balance potential instructional benefits against privacy, consent and measurement concerns. Callers at the meeting asked the district to set clear metrics, require parental opt-in for pilots, and ensure teachers can see and supervise student work in any AI platform.
What’s next: Public commenters asked the School Committee to place limits on expansion of the pilot until research, transparent metrics and parental consent are in place. The transcript does not show a committee response or scheduled follow-up on CourseMojo at this meeting.
