Why every district needs an AI policy for schools now

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Artificial intelligence, or AI, has found its way into everyday life, and the classroom is no exception. Learners are using it to research, solve math problems, write their essays or find answers to homework questions. Educators are using it to identify plagiarism in learners’ work, analyze assessment data, differentiate instruction and create engaging activities. 

Without an AI policy for schools, your district is leaving it up to educators to figure out how to handle AI on their own. This can lead to inconsistency across the district and can even create a safety and privacy issue. 

Putting a clear AI policy in place builds boundaries that learners need as they continue to interact with AI. It also gives educators and school administrators a consistent structure for creating a safe and responsible digital environment. This blog post explores legislation and risks related to AI in K-12, as well as strategies for creating an effective AI policy.

Current laws that apply to AI in schools

FERPA

The Family Educational and Privacy Rights Act of 1974, also known as FERPA, protects the privacy of students’ education records. While it was created before the use of technology in schools, it can be interpreted to apply today to AI use.

The National Education Association explained, “School districts and education institutions that are subject to FERPA must interpret this law for how data is accessed, used, and stored in light of artificial intelligence. For instance, using a program to detect AI usage may require students’ work to be processed through an outside third party, which may be a violation of FERPA.”

COPPA

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule, or COPPA, relates to children who are under thirteen-years-old. It requires websites, online services and apps to disclose how they collect or use children’s personal data and get parental consent.

The Federal Trade Commission updated COPPA in 2025 with new requirements related to data retention. These requirements state that companies can’t retain children’s data indefinitely and need to be more transparent about the timeframe for deleting data. They also must get separate parental consent if they want to share children’s personal data with third-parties, including when sharing data to train AI.

IDEA and Section 504

According to K-12 Dive, “Nearly 60% of special education teachers reported using AI to develop an IEP or Section 504 plan during the 2024-25 school year.”

They also report that these educators save up to six weeks of time over the school year by using AI. This is a huge benefit considering the ongoing issue of teacher burnout.

The challenge, though, is that the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) requires educators to tailor IEPs or 504 plans specifically to the individual learners. If they rely too much on AI to create any part of the plans, or they don’t edit the AI’s suggestions, the plans will be too general and won’t adhere to IDEA.

Another significant risk is privacy violations. If educators are inputting student details into AI to create IEPs or 504 plans, they could be violating FERPA.

State laws

Currently, 34 states as well as Puerto Rico, have official guidance or policy on AI in schools.

Several states like California, Connecticut and Texas have proposed bills to have state oversight boards and sandboxes where AI tools can be tested before they’re used in classrooms.

Others have created task forces, potential AI literacy instruction requirements, professional development investments, discussion on equitable use and protecting student data.

What your district risks by not having an AI policy

Student data and privacy

Many AI tools collect and store data, so when learners use AI for assignments or educators use them for instruction, they could end up sharing personally identifiable information. Without an AI policy that clearly explains which tools learners and educators can use and how they can use them, your district risks violating FERPA. 

Academic integrity

Without an AI policy, learners don’t have clear guidance about appropriate AI use. Some may use it to complete their assignments for them, while others may rely on them too much for assistance. Educators may also not know the best way to handle AI use or inconsistently communicate what appropriate and inappropriate usage is. 

Instructional inconsistency

Some educators use AI to help them save time, but if they don’t have clear guidance, they may inadvertently share student data or use instructional content that is biased or not factual.

Discuss ethical AI use and include AI literacy

Ethical AI use in K-12 is not just about stopping learners from cheating on assessments or homework. Once learners graduate from high school, they’ll need to understand how to use any technology, including AI, thoughtfully and ethically in their everyday life, college or a job. 

If your state doesn’t already require AI literacy, consider how it can be taught across grade levels. This is really a form of digital citizenship that teaches learners how to use AI responsibly. 

For example, students need to learn that AI tools are not always accurate, may be biased and include faulty research. They also need to understand the privacy and safety issues related to sharing data with AI tools such as LLMs or chatbots.  

Educators also need training on ethical AI use. While it can save a lot of time and help them create engaging activities for their learners, they need to be aware of the drawbacks and why it’s critical not to enter students’ personally identifiable information into tools.

Outline how learners can and can’t use AI in school

One of the most important priorities for your district AI policy is clarifying how learners can and can’t use AI. You may have a different structure depending on the grade level or department, but here are some examples.

Research

In some instances, AI tools could be a starting point for gathering research, but it shouldn’t replace the research process in classes like language arts or science. Learners need to understand how to properly research, find reliable sources and verify information. 

Your AI policy should outline exactly how learners can use AI for research, if allowed, and explain that it should not be a complete replacement for the research process.

Writing

Some districts allow learners to brainstorm or outline using AI, while others allow learners to use it to improve their own writing. Other districts don’t allow any help from AI and require all writing to be the learners’ own words. 

It’s up to your district team and input from stakeholders to determine your philosophy. Just be sure it aligns with your state learning standards on the writing process.

Math problems

Most districts don’t allow learners to use AI in math class. If students are not working out problems on their own, they aren’t actually learning the math concepts. They need skills in critical thinking and mental math rather than relying on a tool to give them the answer.

One math teacher, though, shared with Education Week a way to use AI intentionally for learning. “I think it’s really effective when teachers are explicit: “Here’s an AI assignment, here’s what I’m asking you to do on AI. I want you to share what your prompts were, what your outputs were, how you re-engineered your prompt.”

Recommend how educators can use AI in instruction

When you share which tools your district has approved, educators can then use AI appropriately for instruction. 

The United Federation of Teachers announced the National Academy for AI Instruction last year, which offers free AI curriculum and training for K-12 educators.

Hāpara’s Lisa Warschak,a former high school educator, also recently presented a webinar on the benefits of using AI for instruction. Here are some of the ways she recommends using AI.

Differentiation

One way Lisa loves using AI in teaching is to rewrite texts for different instructional readiness levels. Educators may have several reading levels in one class, and they need to ensure that they give learners text in their reading level.

Another way educators can use AI tools is to create summaries of longer reading materials for learners who need condensed texts.

Analyzing data 

Lisa also said that AI can be a huge time-saver by instantly analyzing data. Just be sure to include in your district policy that educators can not share students names or other personally identifiable information. 

For example, an educator can upload a spreadsheet without student data, and the AI can analyze the information and identify patterns. This is a great way for educators to quickly understand where there are learning gaps and what needs to be retaught.

Engaging learners

Educators can also use AI tools to create engaging learning activities. For example, Lisa used Gemini to create an fun escape room activity that taught learners how to make inferences. She entered the learning standard into Gemini, and it quickly created an activity with a slide deck. 

Five tips for creating your school district AI policy

1. Collaborate with district stakeholders

It’s always important to get buy-in from educators and parents, as well as learners. You don’t want to develop a policy without collaborating with your community, especially if you’ll be asking them to follow guidelines. They may also have a better understanding of how AI is being used at school and at home for class activities.

2. Review AI tools 

As you plan your district policy, ask which AI tools educators and learners are already using in the classroom. Then review them and identify the tools that are beneficial and those that should be prohibited.

3. Use clear language

As your team creates your policy, you need to be clear about how both educators and learners can and cannot use AI. There should be no gray areas if you want AI to be used safely and responsibly across the district. Be sure to include:

• Allowed and prohibited AI tools
• What it means to “cross a line” with AI usage for learning and in student work
• How educators are allowed to use AI for instructional purposes
• The ways educators may not use AI
• What federal and state laws say about AI usage 

4. Review consistently

AI is continuing to evolve, so you should review your district’s AI policy at least once a year or even more often. You’ll need to stay up to date on your state laws regarding AI and any new federal legislation. The technology itself is constantly changing and the way learners and educators use AI may also change. Review your policy and incorporate any of these changes into your district policy on a consistent basis. 

5. Include professional development

Once your policy is created, educators throughout your district need training to understand each component. They need to understand which AI tools are allowed, how they can use them, and any risks involved. Be sure to emphasize issues related to privacy. 

Educators also need training on how to manage learners’ AI use. There may be tools that your district allows learners to use, so educators need clarity on how they can be used. Educators also need clear training on how to manage prohibited AI use and how to teach responsible AI use.

Use Hāpara to support your AI school policy

Hāpara Classroom Management gives educators real-time visibility into how learners are technology in the classroom, including browser-based AI tools. 

The Guided Browsing feature in Hāpara allows educators to manage which URLs learners can access during class time. They can create Focus Session with a list of allowed URLs to focus learners on specific websites. Or they can create a “Filter Session” to block learners’ access to specific URLs. Not only can educators create these guided browsing sessions for the entire class, but they also create them for student groups or individual learners. 

In Hāpara, educators can see a list of learners’ current browser tabs and a screenshot of what they’re currently viewing in their Chrome or Edge browser. If they see that a learner has an AI tool open, they can close it and send a reminder about the school AI policy. 

Because most educators don’t want to be tied to their computer throughout the entire class period, they can also record student browsing history to view later. 

For schools that use Google Workspace for Education, Hāpara also gives educators direct visibility into learners’ Google Drive files. On one class dashboard, they can instantly click into files to check on progress. For example, an educator can open a learner’s Google Doc and then view the document history to see if there are large “copy and paste” sections, which could be a sign of AI use. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why does a school district need an AI policy?
Without a school district AI policy, educators and learners are left to make their own decisions about how to use AI tools. This creates inconsistency across classrooms and creates student data privacy issues. A clear policy gives everyone a shared plan so AI is used safely and responsibly.

What laws apply to AI use in schools?
Several federal laws affect how schools can use AI. FERPA protects student education records, which means that your district needs to review any AI tool that uses student data. For children under 13, COPPA requires parental consent before your district shares data with third parties, including AI tools. Educators also need to follow IDEA when they use AI to help write IEPs or 504 plans, since those documents must be tailored to each individual student. There are also many states across the U.S. that have proposed bills related to AI in education.

How should learners and educators use AI in school?
A school AI policy should clearly outline what’s allowed and what isn’t for learners and educators. You might allow learners to use AI to brainstorm or outline ideas, but not to write essays or give them answers to math problems. Educators can use AI to differentiate instruction or analyze data, as long as they never enter personally identifiable student information into tools.