How will Wake schools regulate AI? Students may have to report use to teachers
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Wake County released a revised AI policy discouraging teacher use of AI detectors.
- The draft requires students to disclose when they use AI in their schoolwork to teachers.
- The policy warns AI risks include bias, misinformation, privacy erosion, and overreliance.
Wake County has released a more detailed artificial intelligence policy that discourages teachers from using AI detectors and requires students to say when they use AI in their work.
School administrators presented an updated version of a draft AI policy on Wednesday that is far more cautious about the benefits of using AI. The new version addresses complaints school board members raised last month that the original proposed policy didn’t give enough specific direction on how schools should handle the growing use of AI by students.
“Your feedback told us in these meetings that the initial draft of the policy was way too bandwagon, flag waving supportive of AI,” Julie Crain, senior director of policy, told the school board’s policy committee on Wednesday. “So we revised the tone of the policy.
“It is much more cautious now, that we acknowledge what risk that we’re taking, that we’re transparent about how we use it and how we reflect that to our families and our community, and we are much more specific with governance details.”
Board members were generally supportive of the changes. But they asked staff to consider additions such as explicitly warning against the use of AI to create altered images to bully other students.
Administrators had previously talked about wanting to get the policy in place by August for next school year. It’s unclear now when the policy will be approved.
Wake warns of ‘serious risks’ of using AI
Students are increasingly using AI to help or in some cases do their schoolwork for them.
The school district has spent the past year developing its own AI policy. The new version presented Wednesday addresses board complaints that the prior version didn’t address the downsides of students using artificial intelligence.
“If used without care or oversight, artificial intelligence poses serious risks, including bias, misinformation, erosion of privacy, loss of human connection, and overreliance on automated systems,” Wake’s draft policy says. “The Board acknowledges its ethical and moral responsibility to ensure that such tools are used in ways that reflect and reinforce transparency, accountability, and a steadfast commitment to the benefit of teaching and learning, as well as operational efficiency.”
Unlike the prior version, the new draft addresses issues such as how AI can produce biased information.
“AI tools trained on human data inherently reflect societal biases in the data,” Wake’s policy says. “Those biases may be reflected in outputs that reinforce stereotypes, recommend inappropriate educational interventions, or make discriminatory evaluations.”
The policy also acknowledges the issue of “hallucinations,” when AI tools reference or provide information that is inaccurate or nonexistent.
Wake’s policy comes as state lawmakers are considering legislation requiring school administrators and teachers to be trained on the use of AI.
“This draft is so much better and has come so far since the last draft that we saw,” said board member Lynn Edmonds, who chairs the policy committee.
Reporting when AI is used
One of the biggest concerns over AI is its academic misuse. The revised policy now has a section on the responsible and ethical use of AI.
“Ethical use includes transparency when AI has contributed to work, avoiding harmful or biased outputs, and using AI in ways that reflect the district’s values and commitment to student learning and well-being,” the policy says. “Any use of AI for official purposes by staff or students must be disclosed and explained as appropriate.”
The policy warns students that they can use AI to enhance but not replace critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
Student use of AI would fall under the district’s Honor Code and Code of Student Conduct.
“When AI use is authorized, students will acknowledge its use per the teacher’s instructions and avoid copying and pasting AI-generated materials, which may put them at risk of plagiarism,” the policy says.
Wake teachers told not to use AI detectors
Concerns about students plagiarizing by using AI have prompted some teachers to use AI detectors. That would be banned under the new policy.
“WCPSS does not support the use of AI detection programs due to their technical unreliability, inaccuracy, and potential for bias against specific student populations, including those for whom English is a second language,” the draft policy says. “This is consistent with prioritizing a human-centered approach.”
Crain said not permitting AI detectors puts humans in the loop for reviewing student work.
“Teachers are the best resource to understand the progress of their students,” Crain said. “They know their students and their work.”
Multiple school board members have cited the case of Eleanor Canina, a Green Hope High School student who was accused by a teacher of plagiarism based on the use of an artificial intelligence detector. After Canina appealed, another teacher determined she hadn’t used AI and changed the grade from a 0 to a 100.
Canina has urged Wake to regulate the use of AI detectors to keep other students from being unfairly accused without evidence.
