Search for Artificial Intelligence Policy in Santa Barbara Schools

Students, teachers, and parents in the Santa Barbara Unified School District came together to call for a clear policy on the use of artificial intelligence, attending Superintendent Hilda Maldonado's AI Working Group meeting.

First Meeting of the Working Group

Students, teachers, and parents are urging the Santa Barbara Unified School District to establish a policy on artificial intelligence and to have a voice in the process.

Superintendent Hilda Maldonado's AI Working Group held its first meeting of the academic year on Thursday night, kicking off the policy-writing process.

Objectives of the Working Groups

During the meeting, members broke into four distinct focus groups: academic integrity, teacher guidance, data privacy, and school board policy.

The groups examined the California Department of Education's model AI policy and discussed what should be included for the local school district.

Academic Integrity and Privacy

The academic integrity group addressed plagiarism, usage disclosure, and citation, deciding that teachers should regulate AI use in their classrooms.

Meanwhile, the data sourcing and privacy group raised concerns about protecting student data as well as teacher and staff privacy.

Future Plans and Schedule

The teacher guidance group agreed that curricula should be written exclusively by humans.

The working group aims to draft a final policy by November to submit to the school board for approval, and will hold its next meeting on October 29.