What just happened? Another school district has banned the use of AI in the classroom for students in all grades. While this isn’t the first ban of this type we’ve seen, it’s interesting that it came just weeks after the district began piloting Google Gemini for older students.
Frederick County this week became the latest school district to ban the use of AI in the classroom, voting 6-1 to restrict the technology from preschool through 12th grade.
The board initially considered banning AI only for younger students, but eventually expanded the ban to include seniors.
There are some cases where AI can still be used in the classroom, such as teaching about technology and accommodating students with disabilities.
The decision marks a significant turnaround for the district. The board had allowed middle and high school students to use Google Gemini this school year with teachers’ permission, even though other AI platforms were blocked on school devices.
However, board members expressed concerns about the move. One said it was frustrating to see Gemini rolled out without warning to parents, as it used AI to generate inappropriate images of students and bully others, and “gave poor advice from a mental health standpoint.”
There were also concerns about the impact of AI on children, as well as teachers’ inability to disable Gemini on students’ devices.
Scott Murphy, the district’s director of curriculum and instruction, said Gemini was chosen because it was the only tool the board evaluated and found met the state’s high standards for security and privacy.
Justin Heid, president of the Frederick County Education Association, said several educators are returning to traditional paper-and-pencil assignments instead of computer-based work because they fear students could use AI to complete their assignments. It’s a strategy some have been using since ChatGPT became increasingly popular three years ago.
While many parents supported the ban, pointing out that children can rely on AI as a crutch, others say such a sweeping ban could have a negative impact on their future and make them less prepared for college.
This is not the first ban of this kind, although it is one of the stricter ones. New York City banned AI for elementary and middle school students last month, while the Los Angeles school district is temporarily blocking access to generative AI tools on student devices at all grade levels.
