New AI Policy In Holmdel Schools Puts District 'Ahead Of The Curve'

HOLMDEL, NJ — A new Holmdel school district policy aims to clarify how students and staff can use Artificial Intelligence applications - an area of digital research seemingly here to stay.

On Feb. 28, the board adopted Policy 2365: "Use of Artificial Intelligence Systems and Tools."

It acknowledges the growing presence of AI and its impact on the educational setting:

"The introduction of AI offers unprecedented opportunities for enhancing teaching methods, expanding learning resources, and fostering innovative educational experiences. However, AI also presents unique risks, challenges, and responsibilities, particularly in terms of ethical use, data privacy and security, and the accuracy and integrity of academic work," the policy introduction states.

District Superintendent Dr. J. Scott Cascone stressed that the district wants to establish that AI is a tool to be used to "support academic and professional work - not to supplant it."

"When AI is utilized, it must be cited like any other source. Student codes of conduct and academic integrity/plagiarism have been updated to include language on AI," Cascone said.

Board of Education President Terence Wall said he initiated the discussion on AI about a year ago because "I think it’s important that local districts get ahead of the education curve - not behind it."

Wall cited previous accomplishments in the district and said, speaking just for himself, that by "now embracing tomorrow's technology today with Artificial Intelligence, my view is that the Holmdel Board of Education makes the cut in cutting-edge education."

And he said there are other "next generation classroom capabilities" the board can consider, including the Hologram Classroom space. "Stay tuned," Wall said.

Cascone said Holmdel is now one of a handful of districts to address the AI issue by policy:

"Policy development in K-12 public schools is in its infancy. When we were researching exemplars, we found very few in the national K-12 space," he said, adding that such policies are more common in higher education and corporate settings.

According to the U.S. Department of State, the term "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.” That is based on wording from the National Artificial intelligence Act of 2020.

Investments in AI have led to "transformative advances now impacting our everyday lives, including mapping technologies, voice-assisted smart phones, handwriting recognition for mail delivery, financial trading, smart logistics, spam filtering, language translation, and more. AI advances are also providing great benefits to our social wellbeing in areas such as precision medicine, environmental sustainability, education, and public welfare," the government says.

According to a Stanford University primer about AI, the term was "coined by emeritus Stanford Professor John McCarthy in 1955, and was defined by him as 'the science and engineering of making intelligent machines.'"

"Much research has humans program machines to behave in a clever way, like playing chess, but, today, we emphasize machines that can learn, at least somewhat like human beings do," the site says.

In Holmdel, the policy covers both student and staff use of AI. You can read the full policy on the board's website. Here is just a sampling of the many policy guidelines:

• The district sees the need to "integrate and regulate the use of publicly available applications driven by generative Artificial Intelligence systems and tools, including ChatGPT, Bard, Grok, and other similar applications that mimic human intelligence to generate answers, work product or perform certain tasks ('AI'), within our educational system."
• The policy applies to all students, teachers and professional staff and governs all use of AI technology in any setting or context in the district. It serves to "responsibly harness the potential of these AI technologies but also safeguards the interests and well-being of our students, teachers, and professional staff."
• Through the policy, the district "endeavors to prepare our students, teachers, and professional staff for the evolution of AI and equip them with the knowledge and skills to use these systems and tools wisely and ethically."
• The district will continue to support teachers in incorporating AI into their teaching practices in ways that enrich the learning experience while upholding the district’s educational standards and values.

The policy also cites recommendations published by the U.S. Department of Education and the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights published by the White House pertaining to the need to protect data privacy and security.

"The use of AI systems and tools must be safe and effective for students. AI systems and tools must include algorithmic discrimination protections, protect data privacy, provide notice and explanation, and provide recourse to human users when problems arise," the policy states.

"AI is not a substitute for human judgment. Humans must be in the loop," the Holmdel policy notes.

It provides guidelines for the use of AI by students and staff:

Student Use Guidelines: "Certain assignments may permit or even encourage the use of AI systems and tools. When AI use is permissible, it will be clearly stated in the assignment or specified by the teacher. Otherwise, the default rule is that the use of AI is not permitted. For assignments where AI is allowed, AI use must be appropriately acknowledged and cited," according to a partial quote from the policy.

And the policy notes that "students should be mindful that AI is prone to 'hallucinations,' false answers/information, or outdated information. Accordingly, AI can generate erroneous, misleading, and/or biased information. Thus, students must always verify the information provided by AI using reliable sources such as textbooks, scientific papers, and reputable educational websites."

The policy also includes directions for certain safeguards students need to take when using AI tools, and the guidelines for ethically using AI.

Staff Use Guidelines: "Teachers and professional staff may consult AI for ideas, outlines and to enhance the educational experience, such as supplementing lesson plans, providing differentiated instruction, and aiding in curriculum development. However, copying content from AI and presenting it as one’s own work is strictly prohibited. Teachers and professional staff must write in their own words and inform their supervisor when they have used AI to help perform a task or complete a deliverable," this section of the policy says in its introduction.

Again, the full policy lays out complete guidelines, warnings about privacy and ramifications for potential misuse.

The district provided its resources for compiling the policy:

• UNESCO: AI and Education: Guidance for Policy Makers
• US Department of Educational Technology
• Policy Guidance in Secondary Schools
• Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights
• Peninsula School District