K-12 AI Policy Template for Schools and Districts

1. Purpose

The Board recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) can support teaching, learning, accessibility, and district operations. AI use also raises questions about student safety, privacy, academic integrity, accuracy, and fairness. This policy sets the conditions under which students, employees, and contractors may use AI for district purposes. Procedures and classroom guidance issued under this policy set the details.

2. Scope

This policy applies to students, employees, contractors, and volunteers when they use AI for district instruction, operations, or communications, on district devices or networks, or with district data. It covers stand-alone AI tools and AI features inside products the district already uses.

3. Definitions

1. Artificial intelligence. [Local decision: Use the definition in Mississippi law, shown here, or adopt a local definition.] “Artificial intelligence” means a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations or decisions influencing real or virtual environments. Artificial intelligence systems use machine- and human-based inputs to perceive real and virtual environments; abstract such perceptions into models through analysis in an automated manner; and use model inference to formulate options for information or action. (House Bill 1723, 2026 Regular Session, codified in Chapter 3, Title 1, Mississippi Code of 1972.)
2. AI tool means any software, service, or product feature that uses artificial intelligence to generate content, make predictions or recommendations, or take actions.
3. Approved AI tool means an AI tool the district has approved under Section 7 for a stated purpose, group of users, and type of data.
4. Student data means personally identifiable information from student education records and any other student information protected by law, contract, or district policy.
5. Higher-risk use means any AI use that (1) informs a decision about grading, discipline, placement, eligibility, special education or Section 504 services, a safety intervention, or employment; (2) processes student data; (3) allows a tool to act for a person, such as sending messages, changing records, or submitting work; or (4) is directed at students in [Local decision: grade __] or below.

4. Principles

District use of AI will:

• serve a clear instructional or operational purpose;
• keep people responsible for decisions that affect students and employees;
• protect student safety, privacy, and dignity;
• fit students’ age and development;
• be accessible and fair to students, families, and staff;
• be explained to families and staff in plain language; and
• rest on evidence that a tool serves its purpose, with use changed or ended when it does not.

5. Responsibilities

1. The Superintendent will designate [Local decision: an AI lead or an AI review team] to maintain procedures under this policy, keep the list of approved AI tools, coordinate training, and coordinate the response to AI-related incidents.
2. Principals will implement this policy and its procedures in their schools.
3. Employees are responsible for any work they produce or approve with AI assistance.

6. Permitted, approved, and prohibited uses

1. Permitted. Employees may use approved AI tools for planning, drafting, differentiating materials, translation, summarizing information that is not confidential, and routine operational tasks, subject to Sections 8 and 9.
2. Permitted with approval. The following require approval under Section 7 before they begin: any student use of an AI tool, any use of student data, and any higher-risk use.
3. Prohibited. No one may use AI for district purposes to:
   1. enter student data or other confidential information into an AI tool that is not approved for that data;
   2. make a decision about grading, discipline, placement, eligibility, special education or Section 504 services, or employment based solely on AI output;
   3. create or share content that impersonates, harasses, bullies, threatens, or sexually exploits any person, or that falsely depicts a real person;
   4. get around the district’s internet safety measures or acceptable use policy; or
   5. [Local decision: add any other prohibited uses the Board chooses, for example inferring students’ emotions, intentions, or risk from their faces, voices, or behavior].

7. Review and approval of AI tools

1. Before an AI tool is used by students, with student data, or for a higher-risk use, [the AI lead or review team] will review at least:
   1. the instructional or operational purpose and the evidence that the tool serves it;
   2. what data the tool collects, how the provider uses and keeps it, and whether the provider uses it to train or improve its products;
   3. whether the contract or terms meet federal and state law and district policy, including student privacy law and, where it applies, Section 37-11-81, Mississippi Code of 1972, on digital or online resources offered to K-12 students;
   4. security, including account controls and how the provider reports incidents;
   5. accessibility for students and employees with disabilities;
   6. the provider’s age requirements and the tool’s suitability for the intended grades; and
   7. for a tool that can act for a user, which actions are allowed and how they are logged and reviewed.
2. This review also applies when a product the district already uses adds AI features.
3. The district will keep a list of approved AI tools showing each tool’s approved purpose, users, and data. [Local decision: Publish the list of student-facing tools on the district website, or state where families can see it.]
4. Approval may be limited, paused, or withdrawn when a tool does not serve its purpose or meet these requirements.

8. Student data privacy and security

1. Student data may be shared with an AI tool provider only when federal and state law and district policy permit it, and only under a written agreement that limits the provider’s use of the data to the district’s purposes.
2. Employees will use the least student data necessary for the task.
3. For students under 13, the district will approve only tools whose providers address the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, and will follow district procedures for any consent the district gives or obtains.
4. AI tools are part of the district’s cybersecurity program, including access control and incident response.

9. Employee use

1. Employees must review AI output for accuracy, bias, age-appropriateness, and accessibility before using it with students, sending it to families, or placing it in district records.
2. [Local decision: State whether and when employees must disclose AI assistance in communications to families or in official documents.]
3. Employees may not use personal AI accounts for work that involves student data or confidential district information.
4. [Local decision: Optional. The authorized policy owner must establish this evaluation lane.] Within a documented scope approved by [Local Authority], technical staff may test permitted models on District-controlled systems without approval for each trial. Record permitted models and data, excluded technologies, network and telemetry limits, security controls, the owner, and stop conditions. Use no student data or confidential district data, and send no prompts, data, or telemetry outside approved systems. This lane does not waive acquisition, security, licensing, or data requirements. Operational reliance, sharing, new access, disclosure, or consequential actions require review under Section 7.

10. Student use

1. Students may use an AI tool only when it is approved for their grade level and the teacher or school permits the use.
2. Expectations will differ by grade band. [Local decision: Set the grade bands and what each allows.]
3. Students will be taught, at a level suited to their age, how AI works, its limits, how to check its output, and how to protect their own and others’ personal information.
4. Students must follow the district’s acceptable use and conduct policies when they use AI.

11. Academic integrity and assessment

1. Teachers will tell students, for each assignment or assessment, whether and how AI may be used. [Local decision: When a teacher has not stated a rule, AI use is not permitted, or is permitted with disclosure.]
2. Students must disclose AI use when the teacher or school requires it.
3. The result of an AI-detection tool may not be the sole basis for an academic integrity finding. Concerns will be resolved through [the district’s academic integrity procedure], including an opportunity for the student to explain and demonstrate the work.

12. Accessibility and fairness

1. AI tools will be reviewed for accessibility before approval. Their use must not reduce access for students with disabilities or English learners.
2. Decisions about a student’s accommodations, services, or placement remain with the IEP team, Section 504 team, or other group responsible under law and district policy. AI may inform that work but may not replace it.
3. The district will watch approved tools for errors or bias that affect groups of students and will act on what it finds.

13. Safety, harmful content, and incidents

1. AI tools reached through district devices or networks are subject to the district’s internet safety policy and technology protection measures.
2. Misuse of AI to harm others, including false images, audio, or video of a real person, will be handled under [the district’s bullying, harassment, and conduct policies]. Reports may be made to [office or person].
3. AI-related incidents, including exposure of data or harmful output, will be reported and handled under the district’s incident response procedures, including family notification where those procedures require it.

14. Transparency and family communication

1. The district will publish a plain-language summary of approved student-facing AI tools, their purposes, and how student data is handled, and will tell families how to ask questions or raise concerns.
2. Schools will give additional notice when AI use materially changes students’ instruction or the handling of their data.

15. Professional learning

The district will provide training on this policy and its procedures, including privacy, academic integrity, accessibility, and checking AI output. Employees must complete [Local decision: the required training] before using AI tools for higher-risk uses.

16. Review and reporting

1. The Superintendent will report to the Board [Local decision: annually] on approved AI tools, incidents, training, and recommended changes.
2. The Board will review this policy at least [Local decision: every year or every two years] and when relevant law or district needs change.

Legal references

Legal references. [Local decision: Confirm with counsel and keep only those that apply.]

• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 C.F.R. Part 99
• Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 6501-6506; 16 C.F.R. Part 312
• Children’s Internet Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 254(h) and (l); 47 C.F.R. § 54.520
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq.
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794
• Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12131 et seq.; 28 C.F.R. Part 35
• Section 37-11-81, Mississippi Code of 1972 (House Bill 1315, 2023 Regular Session)
• House Bill 1723, 2026 Regular Session (definition of artificial intelligence)

Cross-references: [acceptable use; internet safety; student conduct; bullying and harassment; student records; procurement; employee technology use]