Cascade School District adopts changes to AI policy

LEAVENWORTH — Cascade School District Board adopted changes to its electronics policy on Oct. 29 in an effort to better reflect the rapidly changing artificial intelligence (AI) landscape.

The new policy thoroughly outlines students’ obligations to ethical and responsible use, such as understanding AI limitations, recognizing and mitigating its potential biases, checking generated sources, providing attribution, maintaining data privacy, and seeking guidance when in doubt.

While previous language provided broad guidelines, such as prohibiting the use of AI to to spread misinformation, cause harm, share confidential personal information, or complete work for the student, the new policy establishes more specific expectations for responsible use.

The changes were considered during a previous meeting, when CSD Superintendent Tracey Edou proposed updating the policy to evolve alongside the technology.

“I've had two or three people contact me about what the school was doing about AI, so I’m very glad that you were prescient enough to get this thing rolling,” said CSD Board member Mike Worden to Edou.

Before adoption, Edou brought the proposed policy to principals, who made minor recommendations.

“It was great to talk about it with the principals and kind of get into the weeds about it,” said Edou.

The policy update aligns with similar efforts across the region, as districts including Quincy, Cashmere, and Wenatchee develop guidelines to integrate AI responsibly in classrooms. Edou says the new changes were informed by Quincy’s policy, who she believes is leading the region in its approach.

Additionally, Edou has been working with a cohort of superintendents who are learning about how to approach AI at an organizational level. CSD teachers are also in the initial stages of AI training; the University of Washington recently led a training on Colleague AI, a platform for educators. 

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media