While artificial intelligence, or AI, continues to grow and improve, infiltrating classrooms across the region, some educators are feeling stuck.

More than a dozen districts had AI policies in place when The Enquirer surveyed local school systems at the start of the school year. But dozens of others didn’t know where to start.

More: How artificial intelligence leads to real intelligence in Cincinnati classrooms

“The issue is so complex a topic,” Norwood City School District Superintendent Mary Ronan wrote in an email to The Enquirer. “AI touches everything from Siri to spell-checkers to ChatGPT to software that moves students to different skill levels based on their response and on and on. Districts need guidance from professionals in the field to encompass all the issues.”

That guidance has finally come.

The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce launched the Ohio AI in Education Strategy in December. The toolkit includes recommendations for AI policies. The guidance also has resources on how to incorporate AI literacy into education preparation programs and how to integrate AI into Ohio’s learning standards.

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted led a coalition of educators, industry representatives, AI experts and other professionals to develop the recommendations, which can be found online. On the site, there are resources for teachers, parents and policymakers.

“This toolkit is not intended as a mandate to use artificial intelligence in education, but instead as a trusted and vetted resource that will aid Ohio’s educators and parents in their mission to prepare our students for this emerging technology,” the executive summary on the website reads.

Below are the coalition’s recommendations for K-12 school districts:

• Form an AI task force.
• Establish a policy governing the use of AI in schools.
• Offer AI professional development and support for staff.

When it comes to creating AI policies, the coalition recommends:

• Clearly define how students and staff should use AI.
• Provide standards for maintaining privacy and personally identifiable information.
• Include guidelines on how to use AI ethically.
• Consider and outline how to evaluate AI tools from third party vendors.
• Consider how AI use might impact learning objectives and student assessments.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The National Weather Service said Saturday evening that even though the Northeast Ohio region has had plenty of snow to go around from the last three and a half days, more snow is on the way.

NWS meteorologist Mike Griffin said there will be lingering snow flurries and showers Saturday night. After the last few days of snow, Welshfield, in Geauga County, saw the most snowfall with 16.1 inches, he said, followed by North Royalton with 15.1 (Cuyahoga County); Burton with 13.9 (Geauga); Brunswick with 13.2 (Medina); Broadview Heights with 13.1 (Cuyahoga); Rusell Center with 10.3 (Geauga); Strongsville with 10 (Cuyahoga) and Hinckley with 9.6 (Medina).

“The past few days (of snow) have been more deeper in the snow belt than the secondary snow belt,” Griffin said. The primary snow belt takes up most of Northeast Ohio, including Lake, Ashtabula, Geauga and eastern Cuyahoga counties, he said, whereas the secondary snow belt includes eastern Lorain County, western Cuyahoga County and Medina, Summit and Portage counties.

Most of the time the primary snow belt is the one that gets hit the worst, he said, when the wind blows from north-northwest. This week’s storm brought wind that came from the western end of Lake Erie, hitting the secondary snow belt, which is more inland, Griffin said.

Northeast Ohio should expect light snow showers Sunday night into Monday. Another, more heavy lake effect snow will approach on Tuesday into the end of the week, Griffin said.

Kaylee Remington is the shopping and entertainment commerce reporter and metro reporter for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. Read her work online.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have seen a handful of players opt to enter the NCAA transfer portal. One of them is offensive lineman Zen Michalski.

Michalski joined Ohio State in the 2021 recruiting class. In that class, he was the No. 22 ranked offensive tackle in the nation and the No. 3 recruit in the state of Indiana.

When he originally committed, the Buckeyes felt that he had a chance to become a huge piece of the future. Unfortunately, that has not been the case.

Now, it sounds like he has found his new team. That team also happens to be a rising opponent for Ohio State in the Big Ten.

According to a report from Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, Michalski is expected to take his talents and transfer to the Indiana Hoosiers.

Joining the Hoosiers will be somewhat of a homecoming for Michalski. He is from Indiana and will be joining a team that ended up making the College Football Playoff this season.

Under head coach Curt Cignetti, the Hoosiers are back on track. They got blown out in the playoff, but the program is building the right way and has a chance to be a very serious contender in the coming years.

Michalski could end up being a huge get for Indiana. He would have a chance to play a consistent role and prove that he still has the ability that made him such a high-profile recruit back in 2021.

Coming into the offseason, the Hoosiers needed to find a right tackle. Michalski would be able to slide right into that position and start for Indiana. It’s a perfect fit for both the team and the player.

As for the Buckeyes, the loss of Michalski should not impact them much at all. He did not play much and they will have plenty of talented offensive line depth in 2025.

Seeing him land with the Hoosiers stings a bit, but Ohio State shouldn’t lose sleep over this likely outcome.