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.