Developing AI Guidance for Your School or School System

Overview

As AI rapidly transforms education, school and district leaders play a critical role in developing clear, adaptable guidance to ensure AI use is safe, ethical, and aligned with instructional goals. Without structured guidance, AI adoption can become inconsistent, raising concerns about equity, data privacy, and instructional alignment while limiting AI’s potential to enhance teaching and learning.

Schools and systems that take a collaborative and iterative approach — engaging key stakeholders, refining policies over time, and supporting educators with professional learning — can ensure AI is integrated intentionally and effectively across schools. A well-developed AI guidance framework provides clarity for educators, safeguards for students, and a foundation for system-wide innovation. Rather than waiting for a perfect plan, systems can start with foundational guidance and refine it over time, empowering educators, fostering responsible AI use among students, and creating sustainable AI integration.

Example From the School Teams AI Collaborative

Prior to joining the School Teams AI Collaborative, the Agua Fria Union High School District (AFUHSD), launched a district-wide initiative to develop flexible yet comprehensive AI guidance that ensured AI adoption was purposeful, ethical, and student-centered. Instead of waiting to have all the answers or attempting to implement a fully developed AI strategy from the start, AFUHSD took a phased, iterative approach, allowing their policies and resources to evolve alongside teacher and student needs. AFUHSD’s process included the following steps:

• Building a Shared Vision for AI: The district assembled a cross-functional AI leadership team that included teachers, administrators, technology leaders, students, and parents. In addition to broad stakeholder engagement, AFUHSD targeted key decision-makers — such as the executive team, department directors, and site administrators — to ensure AI guidance aligned with district-wide instructional priorities.

• Establishing Guardrails to Protect Students and Educators: Rather than creating rigid policies, the district prioritized setting a "floor" — a baseline level of protection that ensured ethical AI use while allowing room for innovation. This included updating acceptable use policies, defining minimum safety and privacy standards, and ensuring that AI-generated content was used transparently and responsibly.

• Implementing AI Ambassadors to Drive Adoption: AFUHSD established a team of AI Ambassadors — teachers, instructional coaches, and librarians — who received specialized training and tools to lead AI implementation in their schools. These educators modeled AI use, refined instructional strategies, and trained their colleagues, ensuring that AI adoption was scalable, collaborative, and tailored to real classroom needs.

• Piloting and Refining AI Guidance Over Time: Instead of treating AI guidance as a static document, AFUHSD committed to ongoing refinement through real-world testing and feedback loops. They initially piloted AI guidance in the classrooms of AI Ambassadors, allowing these trained early adopters to experiment with AI tools, refine implementation strategies, and provide feedback. Their insights shaped district-wide AI adoption, ensuring guidance was scalable and adaptable.

By prioritizing transparency, collaboration, and continuous refinement, AFUHSD ensured that teachers, students, and families understood how AI was being integrated, why policies were evolving, and what safeguards were in place. As a result, educators felt more confident in using AI responsibly, students engaged with AI tools more intentionally, and the district built a strong foundation for sustainable, system-wide AI integration.

Applying This Strategy in Your Context

School and system leaders can effectively integrate AI by engaging stakeholders, updating policies, and fostering continuous improvement. System leaders establish policies and provide support, while school leaders implement AI practices, support educators, and encourage collaboration. The following steps outline how leaders at both levels can drive effective AI integration:

1. Engage Stakeholders and Assess Needs: Form a team of educators, administrators, students, and technology experts to guide AI implementation. Use surveys and focus groups to identify gaps in AI knowledge and infrastructure. Evaluate existing policies and professional development needs to ensure AI aligns with educational goals. The AI Guidance for Schools Toolkit by TeachAI offers comprehensive guidance to help education communities realize the benefits of AI integration while understanding and mitigating potential risks.

2. Update Existing Policies for AI Integration: Revise acceptable use policies to define responsible AI usage for students and staff. Enhance data privacy and security by updating vendor agreements and compliance measures. Develop ethical guidelines addressing bias, transparency, and accountability, ensuring flexibility for evolving AI technologies. The K-12 Gen AI Readiness Checklist by CoSN provides a comprehensive framework to guide system leadership in understanding the complex AI ecosystem and ensuring safe, secure, and bias-free implementation of AI technologies.

3. Designate AI Ambassadors: Identify on-campus AI leaders — teachers, instructional coaches, or librarians — to champion AI adoption. These ambassadors can train peers, tailor AI tools to specific school needs, and provide feedback on implementation. This approach has been effective in school systems like Agua Fria Union High School District, which launched a district-wide initiative to develop flexible yet comprehensive AI guidance, ensuring AI adoption is purposeful, ethical, and student-centered.

4. Develop Resources and Provide Professional Learning: Create AI training programs and resources, such as toolkits and implementation guides. Offer professional learning opportunities, including Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), workshops, and coaching sessions, allowing educators to explore AI tools in supportive settings. The AI 101 for Teachers by Code.org is a free, foundational online learning series designed to help educators understand the transformative potential of AI in education. Additionally, Generative AI for Educators by Google is a two-hour, self-paced course that assists teachers in saving time on everyday tasks, personalizing instruction, and enhancing lessons with generative AI tools—no prior experience is required.

5. Implement, Evaluate, and refine AI Practices: Pilot AI initiatives in select classrooms, gathering feedback from all stakeholders to assess effectiveness. Clearly communicate AI guidelines to the school community. Establish ongoing review processes, such as advisory committees, to keep AI policies current with technological and educational developments. The CoSN/CGCS K-12 Gen AI Maturity Tool offers a comprehensive framework for assessing and enhancing a system's readiness for integrating Generative AI technologies, providing tailored recommendations for continuous improvement.

A structured yet adaptable approach ensures AI guidance evolves with technology and instructional needs. Clear expectations, professional learning, and collaboration help integrate AI purposefully and responsibly. As AI tools advance, ongoing refinement and stakeholder engagement will keep policies relevant. With strong leadership and thoughtful implementation, AI can enhance teaching and learning, preparing educators and students for an AI-driven future.

This AI-enabled strategy was developed by a member of the School Teams AI Collaborative — a partnership between Leading Educators and The Learning Accelerator (TLA). The Collaborative was developed to bring together innovative educators from schools across the country to share ideas and discover effective ways to use AI in the classroom.