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CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - The Charleston County School District discussed the development of an artificial intelligence strategy and policy for its students and teachers at a meeting on Monday afternoon. In partnership with AI for Education, the school district participated in an hour-long workshop during the meeting on the state of generative AI in K-12 schools. The organization has worked with over 500 institutions across the country and has been working with the Charleston County School District to develop its own guidance. Students would potentially be able to use it for on-demand feedback, brainstorming and real-time translation. “AI is going to continue to develop, so we as educators, thought partners, and leaders should begin to accept its opportunities while also developing guardrails that will protect its use,” Luke Clamp, Charleston County School District deputy superintendent, said. “As you heard our presenter say tonight, with integrity and especially with the ethics around the use of it as either a student or a teacher or a leader.” Amanda Bickerstaff is the chief executive officer of AI for Education and led the workshop. Bickerstaff shared the organization’s guiding principle of ensuring AI literacy consists of the knowledge, skills, and mindsets that enable individuals to use AI safely, ethically and effectively. They hosted a guidelines development workshop last month with the district and learned there is a strong consensus around the need for community-wide AI literacy and a desire for the responsible integration of tools. Staff and parents who participated in that workshop also shared urgency around getting clear policy and guidelines in place. In response to the presentation, many board members addressed their concerns and shared that they are excited to continue working with them to be a leader in using generative AI. Some also expressed fear of the overuse of generative AI and its potential harms. “We cannot replace the human factor in our lives,” Pamela McKinney, a school district board member, said during the meeting. Bickerstaff added it’s important to think about the fact that a lot of young people also use AI for companionship and mental health support. “That deeply disturbs me that kids use it for social and emotional companionship,” Carlotte Bailey, another school district board member, said. She said going forward, she hopes the district closely partners with parents. The organization responded and said they intend to have a robust parental literacy and support structure built for future implementation. “As parents, they should begin to explore some of the tools that are out there to see how those tools might be able to be used appropriately to improve something or to create some information for them,” Clamp said. “As the parents begin to explore the tools, they’ll be more familiar with the tools that the students will begin to explore and use. So as their comfortability improves, then the student comfortability should improve.” Bickerstaff said AI’s limitations to its use in schools include identifying age-appropriate use, biased training data and the fact that AI is prone to inaccuracies. District officials shared that the first phase of working with AI for Education cost them about $27,000, and there will be a second phase in the future for implementation. The second phase will also include community-wide AI literacy. Charleston County School District’s final AI policy recommendations plan is to be developed and brought forward over the next month. A first reading of the policy review will be held on Dec. 8. They hope to soft launch this upcoming spring and a full implementation for the upcoming 2026-2027 school year.
