District Policy
3750 - Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use
Washington County School District Technology - Approved 9-8-2025
1. Purpose
This policy establishes the Washington County School District's policy for the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in classroom instruction and school district operations. The District recognizes AI's potential to enhance educational experiences, improve efficiency for educators, and prepare students for an AI-assisted future. The District also recognizes AI’s potential to be used in a manner that is harmful to mental health, critical thinking and the learning process by removing key factors of authentic human connection, personal learning and discovery. This policy seeks to find balance in using AI to promote lifelong learning and continue to foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and holistic literacy. This policy aligns with Utah's focus on AI in education, including training K-12 educators and developing AI literacy.
2. Policy
2.1. Teacher as Expert, AI as Assistant: AI tools are intended to serve as an intern or assistant to certified teachers. They support educators' capabilities but do not replace the teacher's role. Certified teachers remain the primary instructional leaders, directing student learning. Student performance is enhanced when learning is guided by a certified teacher.
2.2. Human Oversight and Judgment: Static (non-real-time) content or outputs generated by AI tools must be reviewed and approved by an educator before it can be presented by the educator to students. This ensures human judgment remains central to educational quality and appropriateness.
2.3. Ethical and Responsible Use: AI will be used in a manner that upholds academic integrity, promotes critical thinking, ensures fairness, and strengthens student reasoning. This includes addressing data privacy, security, safety, inappropriate use, and inherent AI bias.
2.4. Transparency: The District will be transparent with students, parents, and staff about AI use, including data processing and safeguards. This supports parental involvement, maintains trust, and provides curriculum transparency. The District accomplishes this through its published Data Governance Plan and Digital Product Library.
3. Definitions
3.1. “ Artificial Intelligence (AI) ” means computer systems or programs designed to perform tasks typically requiring human intelligence, such as learning, problem-solving, decision-making, language understanding, and content generation.
3.2. “Confidential or Protected Data” means any data or information that is protected from public disclosure by Federal or State Law. Including but not limited to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S. Code §1232g and 34 CFR Part 99 (hereinafter "FERPA"), the Governmental Records and Management Act U.C.A. §62G-2 (hereinafter "GRAMA"), U.C.A. §53A-1-1401 et seq, and Utah Administrative Code R277-487. Examples include: student grades, demographics, health information, discipline records, and attendance records.
3.3. “ Sensitive Material ” means Learning Material that constitutes objective or subjective sensitive material, as defined in UCA §76-10-1235 and WCSD Policy 4212.
3.4. “ Open-ended Environment” means an open AI ecosystem with access to an unknown or unvetted amount of information and may provide output on topics not controlled by the district, school or educator. Examples include: Gemini and ChatGPT
3.5. “ Learning Material ” means material as defined in WCSD Policy 4212.
3.6. “Open-ended Research” means the exploration of information, ideas, or solutions that are not confined to a single answer or predetermined outcome.
3.7. “ General Use Content Generation” means the creation of text, images, or other media by AI tools.
3.8. “ District-approved AI tools ” means AI tools that have been approved in the Digital Product Library using the District’s Software approval process as described in Administrative Letter #159.
3.9. “ Walled Garden Environment ” means an environment where the AI model runs in a closed, controlled ecosystem with access to only specific and approved information, prioritizing safety, compliance, and control . Examples include: NotebookLM
3.10. “ Academic Dishonesty ” means any form of deception or misconduct that undermines fairness, integrity, and trust in the academic process.
4. Procedure
4.1. Confidential or Protected Data: The District generally prohibits the use of Confidential or Protected Data with AI tools for both staff and students. If the district adopts an AI platform to process Confidential or Protected Data, an exemption to this may be granted and will be released in an Administrative Letter.
4.2. Compliance with Sensitive and Pornographic Material Laws : All AI use must strictly adhere to Utah State Laws regarding Sensitive and Pornographic Material as defined in WCSD Policy 4212 and WCSD Policy 3700. AI tools shall not be used to generate, access, or disseminate any content defined as Pornographic or other Sensitive Material. Utah State Law prohibits such materials in all school settings and requires employees to prioritize protecting children from illicit content.
4.3. Compliance with District Policy: AI tools shall not be used or programmed to act in any manner that would violate other WCSD Policies.
4.4. Academic Integrity and Ethical Use: AI tool integration requires emphasizing academic integrity. Students and staff shall not misrepresent AI-generated work as their own. AI tools should support learning, not circumvent it. AI should never be used to cheat or engage in academic dishonesty.
4.5. Staff Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI tools serve as powerful assistants to certified teachers, enhancing teaching practices and managing workload. AI should be viewed as an "intern" who helps with work but does not take over the teaching process.
4.5.1. Permissible Uses
4.5.1.1. Staff are authorized to use District-approved AI tools to support their professional responsibilities.
4.5.1.2. Staff are authorized to use District-approved AI tools to generate Learning Material when vetted using the standards identified under 4.5.3 of this policy.
4.5.1.3. Staff are authorized to use District-approved AI tools to assist with grading assignments using the same standard of practice used with peer-graded assignments.
4.5.1.4. Staff are authorized to use AI to assist in detecting AI generated work, with the understanding that such tools are prone to false positives and should not be the only metric used to identify cheating.
4.5.1.5. Staff are authorized to use AI to assist in the process of creating goals, documents, emails and other communications so long as no Confidential or Protected Data is provided to the AI tool (unless otherwise exempted through an Administrative Letter).
4.5.2. Prohibited Uses
4.5.2.1. Allowing AI to independently design static (non-real-time) Learning Material without educator vetting.
4.5.2.2. Allowing AI to make high-stakes decisions like IEP goals or educator evaluations.
4.5.2.3. Replacing human interaction for emotional/social development.
4.5.2.4. Using AI for subjective grading without teacher review.
4.5.2.5. Presenting AI-generated content as solely original work without appropriate acknowledgment.
4.5.2.6. Using AI to perform analysis on maintained grades, attendance, behavior, or any other Confidential or Protected Data that is not explicitly exempted within an Administrative Letter.
4.5.3. Vetting of All AI-Generated Content: All static (non-real-time) AI-generated Learning Material presented to Students must be vetted by an educator for compliance with all District policy, including Policy 4212, and for accuracy, appropriateness, and pedagogical value. Teachers are the instructional experts; AI tools are assistants. This vetting process requires teachers to:
4.5.3.1. Review for Accuracy and Relevance: Ensure content is factually correct, is age-appropriate, and aligns with the curriculum and the Utah Core.
4.5.3.2. Assess for Bias and Educational Equity: Examine AI outputs for biases and educational equity, in compliance with Policy 4225, and adjust as needed.
4.5.3.3. Verify Compliance with Utah Law and District Policy: Confirm strict adherence to Utah’s Sensitive Material law UCA §76-10-1235 , WCSD Policy 4212, and all other District Policies.
4.5.3.4. Evaluate Pedagogical Soundness: Determine if the material supports learning objectives and promotes critical thinking.
4.5.3.5. Academic Integrity: Ensure content does not facilitate plagiarism; promotes original thought.
4.5.3.6. Source & Citation (if applicable): If AI cites sources in its output , teachers should verify their credibility and relevance.
4.5.3.7. Data Privacy: Verify no Confidential or Protected Data was present in AI output , unless otherwise explicitly exempted by Administrative Letter.
4.6. Student Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): Students may use District-approved AI tools when authorized and guided by an educator as valuable learning aids. When used appropriately, AI can be used to foster lifelong independent learning and critical thinking.
4.6.1. Permissible Uses of AI
4.6.1.1. Open-ended Research;
4.6.1.2. General Use Content Generation;
4.6.1.3. Curriculum, under educator direction and in compliance with this policy.
4.6.2. Curricular Use: AI tools used for curriculum or otherwise used to instruct, mentor, tutor, or provide dynamically generated content directly to students (without educator vetting) about a specific topic in any form that could not be considered Open-ended Research or General Use Content Generation must be designed to:
4.6.2.1. Be completely aligned with the Utah Core;
4.6.2.2. Comply with Utah State Law;
4.6.2.3. Operate in a walled garden environment;
4.6.2.4. Be sufficiently configurable to comply with all WCSD Policies;
4.6.2.5. Provide monitoring and supervision tools for educators to audit compliance.
4.6.3. Educator Responsibilities: Any student use of AI requires that the educator :
4.6.3.1. Use District-approved digital citizenship practices and standards.
4.6.3.2. Provide appropriate supervision as identified in Policy 3730, paragraph 3.10.
4.6.3.3. Ensure appropriate Internet Content Filtering is provided as identified in Policy 3730, paragraph 3.10.
4.6.3.4. Model ethical AI use, openly discussing how they use AI, explaining the importance of personal learning and discovery, and setting clear expectations for student use and documentation.
4.6.3.5. Clearly communicate to Students when and how AI may be used and the consequences for misrepresenting AI-generated content.
4.6.3.6. Instruct students regarding the appropriate use of AI as defined in the Utah State Board of Education AI Framework and this policy.
4.6.3.7. Be aware of the differences between an Open-ended Environment and a Walled Garden Environment, including the safety concerns, strengths, and limitations of each type of AI system, and exercise their professional judgment to select the system that best aligns with the educational objectives of each lesson
4.6.4. Responsible Use
4.6.4.1. Students must use AI tools responsibly and ethically.
4.6.4.2. Students must be transparent about AI use in academic work, acknowledging AI assistance as directed by the educator.
4.6.4.3. Students must use appropriate citation and attribution methods for AI-assisted work as directed by the school and classroom educator.
4.6.4.4. Students must develop critical thinking skills to evaluate AI-generated content for both accuracy and bias. AI systems are trained on vast datasets to build statistical models of data patterns and relationships, not on direct human experience of the real world. As a result, they are prone to “hallucinations,” where the system generates plausible-sounding but false information, and to biases that reflect the data they were trained on.
4.6.4.5. Students must understand the consequences of misrepresenting AI-generated content and adhere to academic integrity policies.
4.6.4.6. Students must understand that artificial intelligence is a synthetic construct; although it can simulate human behavior, knowledge, and social interaction, it lacks genuine empathy, wisdom, a grounded sense of reality, consciousness and the capacity for authentic human connection.
4.6.5. Prohibited Uses (Academic Dishonesty or Misuse)
4.6.5.1. Using AI to plagiarize, cheat, or submit AI-generated content as original work without proper attribution or permission; or using AI to deceive, mislead, or violate academic integrity policies;
4.6.5.2. Generating or accessing Sensitive or Pornographic Material.
4.6.5.3. Inputting or sharing any Confidential or Protected Data with AI tools unless otherwise explicitly exempted by Administrative Letter.
4.6.5.4. Using AI in an attempt to bypass District network filters or other security measures, engaging in cyberbullying, or using AI for illegal or harmful activities; or otherwise to seek or promote unsafe or harmful content.
4.6.5.5. Using AI to request, generate or distribute instructions for creating weapons, explosives, hazardous chemicals, or other dangerous materials.
4.6.5.6. Using AI to create deepfakes or impersonations of another person without their express permission.
4.6.5.7. Using AI in a manner inconsistent with educator or school directions.
4.6.6. Compliance Failure
4.6.6.1. Any AI Tool that fails to comply with the specific requirements of sections 4.2 or 4.6.2 of this policy shall be immediately reported to the School Administration, who shall report it to the Director of Technology. That tool will then be barred from student use until the tool is proven compliant.
4.7. Disciplinary Action
4.7.1. Employee Disciplinary Actions for violation of the policy shall be in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and District policies. Any employee found to be in violation may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment with the Washington County School District and, when applicable, reported to UPPAC.
4.7.2. Student Disciplinary Actions for violation of the policy may include loss of technology privileges and other disciplinary action determined by the school administration following the school’s Digital Response to Intervention Plan.
4.7.3. Other Users’ Disciplinary Actions for violation of the policy may include removal or banning access to Technology Resources and/or criminal/civil legal repercussions.
4.7.4. Regardless of other actions, and when appropriate, any person’s actions may be reported to law enforcement. (R277-495-5(3)(a))