AI Policy Throughline: How Three Years of Collective Voice Built Ethical Practices

Outline

The Problem & The Purpose (5 min): Why RUSD chose a collaborative approach over a restrictive one, framing AI integration around ethical and safe use principles.

Phase 1: Mobilizing Collective Voice (15 min):
The establishment and evolution of the multi-year AI Educator Working Group.
The strategy for recruiting diverse representation across grade levels (5-12), subjects (e.g., specific outreach to Science and Math teachers), and school sites to ensure a genuine collective voice and ground-level practicality.
Expansion of the Group over a three-year process between 2023-2026.

Phase 2: Policy Foundation & Ethical Mandate (15 min):
Grounding the policy in legal guardrails: Mandatory vetting of all AI tools and compliance with federal student data privacy laws.
Key policy takeaways for staff and students, including the mandatory requirement to cite AI when used as a source and the prohibition of submitting AI-generated work as original.
Consistent and widespread Professional Development with a shared vision for foundational ethical digital literacy for all staff

Phase 3: The AI Digital Literacy Throughline in Action (20 min):
Showcasing the resulting resources:
AI Policy to Classroom Practice Guide
AI Classroom Pedagogy Guide
Professional Development for all staff
Review of the aligned resources that bridge policy to practice:
Academic Honesty Application Guide (for staff)
Syllabus Language Templates (for teachers)
Student Handbook Language (for students/families)
AI Use Continuum (for teachers/students)
Student Use Guidelines (for students/families)

Conclusion: The Power of Buy-in (5 min): Demonstrating how this collaborative, transparent process ensured all stakeholders became empowered partners, leading to a smooth, ethical, and responsible AI implementation.

Outcomes

Participants will be able to:
Structure an Effective Multi-Year Working Group: Design a framework for an ongoing, diverse AI Educator Working Group that successfully leverages collective voice to gather comprehensive stakeholder feedback and ensure district-wide buy-in.

Establish an AI Digital Literacy Throughline: Analyze RUSD's policy-to-practice approach to construct a coherent resource ecosystem that grounds AI use in academic integrity and emphasizes the "human in the loop" for critical thinking and oversight.

Implement Key Resources for Buy-in: Identify and adapt the specific tools—such as explicit Syllabus Language Templates, Academic Honesty Application Guides, and accessible Digital Literacy Classroom Discussion Guides—to ensure a smooth, transparent, district-wide roll-out focused on ethical and safe AI use.

Supporting research

https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/pl/aiincalifornia.asp
https://csteachers.org/ai-priorities/
https://code.org/en-US/artificial-intelligence
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ai
https://iste.org/ai