Quaker Valley School District is taking a thoughtful and proactive approach to helping students understand when and how to use generative artificial intelligence and related tools responsibly.
At the Sept. 22 Legislative Board meeting, the Quaker Valley School Board approved Policy 815.1, Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Education. The new policy establishes Districtwide expectations for generative AI while recognizing its potential to enhance teaching, learning, and District operations. At the center of the policy is a guiding principle that all consequential decisions require direct human review and approval.
The policy provides something especially important for families as AI becomes increasingly common: clear expectations and guardrails for how these tools will be approached at Quaker Valley.
Following the Board’s approval, Director of Innovation Brett Slezak explained, “Generative AI is already part of the world our students are growing up in, and we know it is already being used by both students and staff.
“Our approach isn’t to ignore that reality or simply add more technology,” he said. “It’s to put thoughtful guardrails in place that protect students and staff, while giving everyone a clearer understanding of when these tools add value, when they don’t, and ensuring that consequential decisions remain in the hands of people, not AI.”
Teaching students to be thoughtful AI users
The policy is centered on education, research, and learning. Students will periodically receive developmentally appropriate instruction on the use of generative AI. Instruction will emphasize critical thinking and responsible use and will include learning to question the accuracy of AI-generated information, understanding the importance of human oversight, and considering the ethical limitations of these tools.
Those skills extend far beyond a particular website, app or classroom assignment. As generative AI becomes increasingly prevalent in students' academic and personal lives, the District wants students to be prepared to navigate the technology with good judgment.
“AI literacy is really an extension of the skills we already want our students to develop,” said Assistant Superintendent Andrew Surloff, who helped to lead the policy adoption. “It is not simply about knowing how to use a particular tool. It is about asking good questions, evaluating the information you receive and recognizing when something requires your own judgment. As these technologies become more common in everyday life, we want our students to have the critical-thinking skills to use them thoughtfully and responsibly.”
What does this mean for student assignments?
For students and families, one of the most immediate questions surrounding generative AI may be when it can and cannot be used for schoolwork.
When completing graded assignments and projects, students may only use generative AI only when their teacher has provided written instructions allowing its use. Teachers will communicate the extent to which AI may be used based on the goals of the assignment. Students who use AI contrary to those instructions may be subject to discipline as outlined in the Secondary Student Code of Conduct.
This parameter within the policy gives teachers flexibility to use generative AI when it supports learning while preserving opportunities for students to independently demonstrate their own knowledge and skills.
The policy sets similar expectations for educators. Generative AI may assist teachers in providing feedback on student work, but evaluating and grading that work remains the sole responsibility of the teacher. AI can support the process; it cannot replace an educator’s professional expertise.
A guiding principle throughout the policy is that AI can be a useful tool, but consequential decisions remain the responsibility of people.
School Board member Jessica Webster, who serves as the chair of the Policy and Government Affairs Committee shared that student input was crucial in developing the policy: “Our student Board representatives told us that they value the knowledge, feedback, and professionalism their teachers bring to their learning. Our students want opportunities to think for themselves and demonstrate what they know. That perspective helped reinforce our belief that providing guiderails for AI to support learning was the correct approach. Quaker Valley is committed to keeping human thought and relationships at the heart of the educational experiences we provide.”
Protecting student and staff information
The policy also establishes safeguards around privacy and the AI tools used in District schools.
Generative AI resources procured by the District will be evaluated on an ongoing basis for factors including age appropriateness, privacy protections, accessibility and data security. The District will also maintain a process for teachers and administrators to request new generative AI resources. Before a new resource is procured, it will be reviewed for factors including its privacy policy, data-storage practices, and FERPA compliance.
The District has already begun to embed provide professional development to help staff understand instructional uses of AI, as well as important considerations involving privacy, legal compliance, and ethics. These learning opportunities will continue to evolve alongside the technology.
Learning alongside a changing technology
Generative AI will continue to change, and Quaker Valley's approach will continue to evolve along with it. The adoption of Policy 815.1 provides a foundation for that work, allowing the District to explore new opportunities while setting clear expectations around responsible use, privacy, academic honesty and human judgment.
The policy also calls for the District's adopted AI tools to be evaluated on an ongoing basis and periodically reviewed for effectiveness, compliance, and risk. As the technology and its applications continue to develop, Quaker Valley will continue learning from how AI is being used in classrooms and District operations and adjust its practices accordingly.
“AI will continue to change, and avoiding it will not prepare our students or staff for what’s ahead. This policy gives us the guardrails to learn and adapt responsibly, while keeping people at the center of the decisions that matter,” Slezak said.
For students, that means learning more than how to use an AI tool. It means learning to ask questions, evaluate information, recognize limitations, and make responsible choices about when and how technology should be used.
Those are skills that will matter no matter what the next generation of technology looks like.