The Palm Beach County School District joins a growing list of districts across the country to adopt formal policies for how students, teachers, and staff can and cannot use artificial intelligence.
School board members on Wednesday, April 15, approved a new policy that prohibits students from using AI in ways already prohibited by state or federal law and allows teachers to prohibit or limit the use of AI in specific assignments. Unless a clear, documented exception is made, students may not use AI in district-required state or other standardized assessments (such as AP or IB exams or industry certification exams).
Effective immediately, this new policy also addresses deepfakes (synthetic images, audio, or video that depict a person or group doing or saying something they did not actually say or do).
UNESCO, the United Nations educational, scientific and cultural organization, has repeatedly warned that deepfakes are contributing to anti-Semitism, Holocaust denialism and gender-based violence. It also creates a “crisis of knowledge,” in which humans are unable to determine what is real and what is fake.
Penalties for using AI in schools
The district’s new policy states: “Creating, distributing, promoting, or using digitally engineered works, known as deepfakes, to do or say something that you have not actually done or said. “This includes the malicious use of deepfakes or AI-generated works for the purpose of harming, deceiving, bullying, threatening, embarrassing, humiliating, or defaming others.”
Such conduct “may also result in criminal prosecution under Florida law,” the policy states.
Students found using AI in prohibited ways “may be subject to academic penalties as well as disciplinary action under the Student Code of Conduct.”
By April 2025, at least 28 states have implemented some kind of AI policy in schools, according to the State Board of Education, a nonprofit organization that tracks education policy.
School district officials began drafting a new policy targeting AI last year and presented it to school board members in November. At the time, relatively few school districts nationwide had AI policies in place.
“We are not reinventing the wheel,” the district’s AI presentation said. “Any misuse of AI falls under the existing Student Code of Conduct. The same rules regarding academic integrity continue to apply.”
Violating the district’s rules regarding academic integrity may result in a zero grade for the assignment and notification to parents. Repeat violations may result in more serious sanctions, including suspension.
Teachers and staff must ensure that the use of AI tools is “in line with the district’s technology and ethical standards.”
Teachers and staff must complete mandatory “eLearning training,” which includes acknowledging their understanding of the appropriate use of district technology. ”
Students will receive “age-appropriate training” annually on how to use AI tools responsibly.
District employees are authorized to use only resources, software applications, and databases approved by the District’s Technology Clearinghouse Committee. Relying solely on AI to make decisions about students that could have a significant impact on their lives, such as report card grades, graduation eligibility, or discipline, is prohibited.
Because AI programs “may exhibit varying levels of accuracy and reliability,” the district’s policy states that “AI programs should not be relied upon solely to make important decisions and evaluations, including student performance and behavior.”
The district’s policy also seeks to protect the privacy of students, faculty and staff, stating that “the input of sensitive or personally identifiable information into unauthorized AI tools, including without limitation those without an approved data privacy agreement, is prohibited. The sharing or dissemination of sensitive information through AI-generated artifacts or other means is strictly prohibited, unless expressly permitted by law or district policy.”
Records created by AI are not considered official as they may contain errors.
When students use AI-generated materials in the classroom or extracurricular activities, they must adhere to the same standards of conduct and academic integrity as other materials. To maintain academic integrity, when students use AI for schoolwork, they must authorize the use of AI in accordance with their instructor’s instructions, including but not limited to attribution of AI text, images, multimedia, etc. Students must adhere to the same standards of conduct and academic integrity as other materials. We expect you to work on the tools.”
Wayne Washington is a journalist who covers education and Riviera Beach development for the Palm Beach Post. Please contact us at wwashington@pbpost.com. Please support our activities. Subscribe now.
