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Lammersville Joint Unified outlines phased AI rollout, plans Gemini licenses for grades 7–12
Summary
Deputy Superintendent Harrison presented a phased plan to introduce Google Gemini across classrooms and district operations, starting with staff PD and teacher leaders and offering Gemini licenses to students in grades 7–12 beginning fall 2026; trustees raised privacy, equity and implementation questions.
Deputy Superintendent Harrison told the board the district will take a phased ‘‘tortoise, not the hare’’ approach to integrating artificial intelligence into teaching and operations, combining professional development, teacher-led training and standardized Canvas modules for students.
"Our approach will be steady and thoughtful," Harrison said, describing November 3 professional development that trained 23 teacher leaders and surveyed both teachers and students. He said staff selected Google Gemini over other tools because the district is already a Google Workspace customer and because Gemini offered workflow and data protections suited to school use. "We felt Gemini would work better for us because we're already a Google school district," Harrison said.
Harrison summarized teacher survey results showing that educators are using AI for lesson planning, differentiation and productivity, and that 70% of teachers requested time to explore tools. He described plans for Canvas-based student modules to teach responsible use and academic-integrity expectations, and said students in grades 7–12 "will receive Gemini licenses beginning in the fall of 2026," with access aligned to instructional readiness.
Trustees and members of the public pressed on safeguards and data privacy. Trustee Modi noted the district's Gemini agreement appears to prevent Google from using school inputs to train external models, which he said should reassure parents and staff. "I think the agreement with Gemini includes the fact that any data that we put into Gemini does not get shared by Google elsewhere," Trustee Modi said. Harrison acknowledged that students who use non-district tools at home could expose data outside district control and said that teacher syllabi and assignment parameters will be used to set expectations for acceptable tools.
Student Trustee Donovan Rudish urged continued student voice in the rollout. "I really appreciate already collecting the student feedback," Rudish said, adding that students use multiple platforms and may prefer different tools by course. Harrison and other administrators said the district will host parent trainings and standardized site-level presentations so families know what sanctioned tools will be used and why.
No formal board action was taken; the presentation closed with a request for continued feedback from teachers, parents and students as the district finalizes licensing and training timelines.
