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Students press Upper Dublin board for tighter AI rules; administration invites follow-up
Summary
Dozens of students spoke during public comment on June 3, delivering a petition (~275 signatures) and urging age limits, grading safeguards, intellectual-property protections and stricter teacher rules in planned AI administrative regulations; Dr. Smith invited student follow-up and said the policy and AR are iterative.
Dozens of students and several community members used the public-participation period on June 3 to press the Upper Dublin School District for clearer, stricter rules on classroom use of generative artificial intelligence.
Ramona Bridal, a student at Upper Dublin High School, delivered a packet to the committee and said students collected around 275 signatures on an open letter asking the district to address "grading fairness, protecting our students' intellectual property, age restrictions across the district, some environmental concerns, AI collaboration consistency across classrooms, and teacher usage." Bridal asked that student concerns be included in the administrative-regulation (AR) process.
Leora Salzberg, also a student, said unrestricted AI use risks students’ independent learning: "No amount of AI in schools can take this passion away from me. But for those who are less thrilled at the idea of academics, AI allows them to skip the hard work and get the reward," she said, urging the board to adopt "very curated regulations." Simone Lambert told the committee she had observed AI-generated exam content and warned that overreliance could depress test performance where AI is unavailable.
Students described a range of classroom experiences and concerns about teacher use: some said teachers had used AI to create assignments and tests, and several asked for age-based distinctions so younger students would not have the same access as older ones.
Jenny Vitella Ambler, a community member, raised a separate concern about transparency in curriculum decisions around the Latin program and asked the board to use its oversight powers to ensure consistent process and stakeholder input.
Administration responded. Dr. Smith thanked the students and said staff view the policy and accompanying AR as "a start" and an iterative process: "It is not in any way to encourage or promote the use of AI, but to put some guardrails," Dr. Smith said, and invited Ramona Bridal and other students to meet with staff to provide input. Board members echoed appreciation and encouraged student participation in an AI think tank the district plans to expand to include student voices.
What this means: The district has not adopted final administrative regulations; staff will continue drafting the AR over the summer and said they will incorporate feedback, including from students. The committee’s action to forward the policy to the legislative meeting does not by itself finalize AR content or operational guidance.
