Boston Public Schools has rolled out a draft artificial intelligence policy that comes down hard on unsanctioned AI use, particularly deepfakes. The proposed rules would sharply limit how students and staff can use generative AI, ban non–school‑approved tools, and outlaw AI‑generated audio, video, or images meant to harass or impersonate classmates. The policy also lays out new steps for reporting and responding to manipulated media. The School Committee is expected to take up the proposal ahead of a vote in June.
District leaders walked the School Committee through the draft and detailed several specific prohibitions, including bans on creating AI audio, video, or images of real people without explicit consent, forbidding the use of AI as the only basis for grading or discipline, and blocking the input of student data into unapproved AI resources, as reported by the Boston Herald. According to the Herald, the district developed the policy with input from more than 500 staff, students, families, and community partners, and officials plan to keep refining the draft before the June vote. Superintendent Mary Skipper has described the rules as "healthy guardrails," while School Committee member Lisa Irey says the basic principle is that "AI must serve our values, not define them."
What's in the draft
The proposal would turn existing guidance into a formal districtwide policy that allows limited, teacher‑directed use of AI while shutting down unsupervised tools and nonconsensual synthetic media. It outlines how school officials should act when manipulated content surfaces, including steps to stop its spread, notify the central office, and support affected students and families. The district's AI resources and guidelines provide the framework for the draft, blending classroom instruction with privacy and safety rules. BPS AI Hub
How the district is framing it
City and district leaders are tying the policy to a bigger push for AI fluency, arguing that students need both literacy and ethics training alongside enforceable rules. That rollout was first sketched out in March as part of a public‑private effort to develop curriculum and train teachers, as reported by GovTech. Officials say the two‑track approach is meant to help students learn to use AI tools critically while cutting down on harms like harassment, reputation damage, and privacy violations.
Legal implications
The draft arrives as state leaders ramp up pressure on synthetic media. Massachusetts' attorney general co‑led a multistate letter urging tech platforms to clamp down on nonconsensual deepfakes, and state law has expanded protections against the nonconsensual distribution of intimate imagery. The Massachusetts Attorney General's office notes a heightened enforcement climate, which gives districts more legal backing when they block and respond to harmful manipulated content. That backdrop could affect how schools investigate incidents and when they loop in law enforcement or state agencies.
School officials say they will keep gathering feedback from educators, students, and families, and expect to roll out resources and training over the summer ahead of the committee's June vote. District materials invite public comment as the draft is fine‑tuned. If approved, the policy would sit alongside BPS's existing AI guidance and its planned AI‑fluency curriculum as the district's roadmap for helping students navigate emerging tools responsibly. BPS AI Hub
