AI Policy Library

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Using these AI guidelines

Most schools and districts are past asking whether students will use AI. The questions now are what the rules should be, who they apply to, and how to keep them current as the tools change every few months.

This page pulls together what we've learned working with thousands of schools on those questions: whether you need a formal policy, what it should cover, how schools have written theirs, and real examples you can borrow from. Working in the UK? See our UK AI policy guide.

OUR TEAM'S SUGGESTIONS

Tips for forming your AI policy

Does my school or district need an AI policy?

In a growing number of states, yes. At least eight now require districts to adopt one, according to Education Week's tracker:

Laws are changing quickly, so check with your state education agency before relying on this table. AI for Education keeps a directory of each state's guidance.

Even where it isn't required, teachers are asking for one. In a Gallup and Walton Family Foundation survey from spring 2026, only 18% of public school teachers said they had any formal guidance on using AI at work, and a third had no guidance at all. RAND found that just 45% of principals said their school or district had AI policies or guidance during the 2024-25 school year, while more than half of students were already using AI for schoolwork.

A policy doesn't have to be long or rigid. Many districts keep the board-approved policy short (values, who's responsible, what's off-limits) and put the details that change often, like approved tools and classroom examples, in separate guidance that's easier to update. Tucson Unified works this way, as Education Week reported.

What existing policies can we lean on?

Start with your student handbook, academic honesty policy, acceptable use policy and data privacy agreements. Much of what an AI policy needs to say already lives in them, and your AI rules should be reflected there when those documents are next revised.

Existing policies were usually written to prevent misuse, so they rarely say what students are allowed to do with AI. Your new rules should make clear whether students can use AI to study on their own, research a project, or get feedback on a draft, and when they need to say that they did.

WHAT TO INCLUDE

What to put in your AI policy

Most published templates, from state model policies to NEA's sample board policy, cover the same ground. Use this as a checklist when you draft or review yours.

Set rules by grade band

A rule that makes sense for a high school senior rarely fits a second grader, and more districts now set different rules for each age group. New York City paused student-facing AI for 2-K through 8th grade for the 2026-27 school year while allowing supervised pilots in high school. Florida's new rules require extra review for any AI tool used in VPK through 5th grade.

For students under 13, check each tool's terms. Many general-purpose chatbots are only licensed for users 13 and older, and tools that collect data from younger children fall under COPPA.

Protect student data and vet your vendors

Your policy should say that only approved tools may be used with student information, and who does the approving. Before approving an AI tool, ask the vendor:

That last question comes from the U.S. Department of Education, whose August 2026 guidance asks schools to choose technology based on evidence and to stop using tools that aren't improving learning. Evidence on AI is still thin: a federal research review found only 20 rigorous studies of AI's effect on K-12 learning, so a short pilot with clear goals is often the best evidence you'll get.

Check what's already switched on, too. In August, Google turned on Gemini by default for many student accounts, and several administrators found out after the fact. Our Gemini guide walks through the options.

Name the harms your policy covers

Cheating gets most of the attention, but the incidents that reach principals' offices are often different. RAND found that 13% of principals had dealt with bullying involving AI-generated deepfakes, rising to 22% in high schools. Say plainly that creating or sharing fake images, audio or video of real students or staff is prohibited, and connect it to your existing harassment policy.

Chatbots that act as a friend are a newer concern. Florida now bars classroom AI that is designed to meet students' emotional needs or simulate companionship, and California passed new safety rules for companion chatbots used by children in September 2026. Your policy should say what happens when a student brings a personal or mental health issue to an AI tool, and who on staff is alerted.

Handle academic integrity without relying on detectors

AI detectors are unreliable, and Education Week notes they have mislabeled writing by English learners as AI-generated. Half of the nation's 10 largest districts now explicitly discourage them, Chalkbeat found.

What works better is being clear, assignment by assignment, about how much AI help is allowed, and asking students to show how they used it. Many schools use a scale like Leon Furze's AI Assessment Scale so every assignment carries a clear level, from no AI to full AI use.

How to create your AI policy and guidelines

Every school's process looks a little different. Some of the schools that use Flint wrote a policy first, and others chose a tool and then wrote rules around it. These are the steps we see most often.

1. Sync with your school leaders. Bring together board members, administrators, and department or building leads to agree on goals. Start by listing which AI tools and built-in AI features students and staff can already reach, and whether you're rewriting existing policies, writing a new one, or both. If your state requires a policy, note the deadline.

2. Gather an AI task force. Include teachers across subjects and grade levels, people who are skeptical of AI as well as enthusiasts, and someone who handles data privacy. Some schools add students and parents, who often raise issues staff don't.

3. Create a set of working guidelines. A small group can draft, using the checklist above. Then have teachers test the guidelines in real classes and report what's unclear or missing.

4. Roll out and monitor reactions. Share the policy with teachers, students and families in plain language. Keep a way for people to ask questions and flag problems, whether that's department meetings, office hours or a simple form.

5. Revise as necessary. Put a review date in the policy itself and keep it. New tools, new features in the tools you already use, and new state rules will all require updates.

Further reading

• Most Teachers Receive No Formal Guidance on AI Use from Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation

• Which States Require Schools to Have AI Policies?, Education Week's state tracker

• 5 Best Practices for Crafting a School or District AI Policy from Education Week

• Artificially Intelligent Bullies: Dealing with Deepfakes in K–12 Schools from RAND

• Guidance on responsible use of education technology from the U.S. Department of Education

• AI in K–12 Education: The Good, the Bad, and the Guardrails to Consider from the Institute of Education Sciences