SCASD takes first step to addressing AI in the classroom

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (WTAJ) – The topic of generative AI in education is one that less than half of the states in the U.S. have a policy addressing, and now the State College Area School District (SCASD) wants to face the issue head-on.

At the SCASD Board of Directors meeting Oct. 21, the board heard a proposed policy that addresses the place that artificial intelligence has in the district moving forward. According to Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education Jonathan Bucher, the goal is to find “an appropriate use of AI” with the SCASD students and staff.

Professor of Education at Penn State Gerald Letendre says that while he uses AI in his classroom, some of his students are seeing the opposite in others.

“Most schools have tried to ban it, and I think that’s a bad idea,” Letendre said. “The horse is out of the barn. We have to deal with this.”

The proposed policy for SCASD is not a complete ban on generative AI. Instead, it is focusing on things like teaching AI literacy, explaining the benefits and disadvantages of it and advancing academic integrity in the classroom.

“Our focus is in the sense of how it affects students,” Bucher said.

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Bucher went on to say they want the students to leave the district “having the skills” to deal with AI as well as “not hindering themselves” with overuse.

Letendre applauds SCASD for taking the early steps to address the issue, saying that there are “dangerous consequences” for failing to properly teach students about generative AI, including “serious legal charges.”

The policy has not been approved by SCASD’s board. Bucher says the vote on it will most likely come at their next meeting Monday, Nov. 4.

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