Artificial intelligence (AI) is the talk of the classroom.
New York City and Los Angeles have both banned the use of AI in the classroom, and school districts across Massachusetts are grappling with how to tackle the ever-evolving tech that seems to have taken over.
Belmont High School first introduced its AI policy last school year, a single line in the handbook that read, “Unauthorized use of generative AI tools to substantially complete an assignment is not permitted.” The handbook does not outline specific consequences for students who violate the policy, but notes consequences may include suspension. The School Committee also approved its AI policy, which instructs the district to develop guidelines for AI that “are in line with current District policy and state and federal laws regarding the protection of student information,” last year.
In May, the School Committee unanimously approved the high school handbook, which included the same policy as the previous year.
This school year, however, BHS Principal Isaac Taylor sent out a newsletter to students and families saying he has been “hearing a growing number of concerns from teachers and students about academic dishonesty” when it came to the use of AI outside of the classroom.
Taylor continued to say the high school will be piloting a new practice, where instances of suspected academic dishonesty will be reported to a curriculum director, who will investigate and “assign consequences where warranted.” Repeated instances of cheating by individual students will be tracked and consequences will increase. He added that educators have been instructed to “clearly communicate” expectations in the syllabus and before every assignment.
“My belief is that having more consistency and transparency around academic expectations will create an environment where the vast majority of students who follow the rules feel supported, and that they are not disadvantaged,” Taylor wrote in the newsletter.
Student Petition
For some students, the ambiguity and brevity of the AI policy left them feeling more in limbo than before. Many teachers rarely broach the subject of AI, according to BHS senior Leo Hansen.
“In my group, everybody hates AI, but I’ve seen people use it in the middle of class, and when I point it out to them, they’re just like, ‘Oh, it’s just AI,’ and there has been absolutely zero discussion about AI in general in classroom environments,” Hansen said.
Hansen wrote a five-point petition that he’s been circulating among the student body. The petition requests the word “substantially” be removed from the policy entirely, claiming it’s too subjective to be fair. The petition also requests an in-depth description of when and if AI use is permitted for assignments, why it is not permitted, and an expansion of restrictions against AI and what possible consequences may be.
Hansen’s petition additionally asks for a curriculum or assembly on AI — calling it the bare minimum when it comes to educating students on the technology and its implications. He said he’d like to see the school address how AI and chatbots can impact young people’s mental health.
“I feel like it’s gotten more frustrating recently because I started seeing and looking into it, but it’s definitely been frustrating how it’s been so dismissed as a subject,” Hansen said.
Parents, Educators Call For Expanded Training
Parents have also raised concerns about the school’s policy and what they say is a lack of urgency when it comes to addressing the evolving tech landscape with students.
“I think a number of us who had already been trying to engage the school on this question found this [response] inadequate,” said Mary Lewis, a high school parent.
Developing a policy isn’t an easy task, Lewis acknowledged, nor is it something that happens overnight. As an educator at the college level, she said she’s seen firsthand how AI has changed how teachers approach lessons and grading.
“This is super hard, and I’m really sympathetic to both the leadership at the school and the teachers. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with in my career, including COVID,” Lewis said. “[…] I think it’s an urgent problem, and we need to stop putting it off.”
Kate Jewell, another college educator and Hansen’s mother, added that she saw AI enter her classroom “the second it became available.” At both the high school and college level, student use of AI can be prevalent, but Jewell noted the problem goes deeper than just the ease the technology can offer.
“I think for a lot of different reasons that a lot of students are very kind of disconnected from the value of the education that they’re getting,” she said. “[…] most students don’t want to cheat their way through college, and they want it to matter. They want it to mean something. But, when the person sitting next to you is taking the easy way out and getting a better grade than you, and in that moment, the incentives have broken.”
According to Belmont Education Association President John Sullivan, there has yet to be any professional development about AI for teachers.
“I think educators would want a more in-depth discussion about [AI’s] place. I think there’s varying perspectives on its use in the classroom, and I think there needs to be more consensus built around the role of AI,” Sullivan said.
Taylor did not respond to a request for an interview with The Voice. In an emailed statement, Superintendent Jill Geiser said the district is continuing to work on developing guidelines for AI.
“These are important questions as we work to develop guidelines around how AI is used in the district based on the SC Artificial Intelligence policy. The high school’s current guidelines support principles of academic integrity to ensure students’ use of AI does not replace student learning. Professional development will be an essential component of these guidelines and will need to be integrated into our current PD structures and goals,” Geiser wrote.
How Does Belmont Compare
As students and parents criticize the lack of guidance from the school district, experts say Belmont isn’t alone.
“Overwhelmingly, there’s low levels of satisfaction with the amount and quality of guidance, and the most important reason is that we do not know what to do,” said Justin Reich, a digital media professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Reich has studied how technology, particularly AI, is impacting classrooms and students across the board.
According to Reich, schools across the country have been stumbling when it comes to developing AI practices. Normally, districts are able to compare policies and build something that works for their students and community. However, while a range of AI policies have been implemented across the country, there is no solid research or evidence that one policy is better than the other.
“No one has invented [a fool-proof policy] yet, but I think there’s a sense that four years after ChatGPT, we should have our heads wrapped around this, and we do not,” Reich said.
Grafton Public Schools has an in-depth “stoplight” policy that uses a red, yellow, and green color code to signal when and when not AI is permissible. On the other hand, Lexington Public Schools is still in the midst of developing its policy, with some teachers saying it feels like “the wild west,” the Lexington Observer reported.
Reich recommends that school districts form “AI Councils” with students, teachers, administration, parents, and other community members on board to help guide the cultivation of ideas and practices surrounding the technology.
Regardless of the approach of the district, Reich said the concerns of parents, educators, and students alike are valid. Finding a happy medium between encouraging critical thought outside of AI and preparing students for a future potentially riddled with the technology is easier said than done — and may not even be possible.
“The two basic concerns that people have are twofold, and they’re obvious,” Reich said. “If kids use AI to do too much of their thinking, they will not learn, and they will not be prepared for their future … The second risk is that young people will be expected to use these tools in college, in the trades, in civic life, in their future working life, and if you don’t teach them anything about it, then they’re not adequately prepared for their future. But those two risks have opposite implications.”
