North Dakota Superintendent Helps Schools Develop AI Guidelines

North Dakota Schools Superintendent Kirsten Baesler has announced new artificial intelligence (AI) guidelines. The guidelines are intended to help local schools develop their own AI policies and help teachers and administrators work more efficiently.

This guideline was developed by a group of educators from North Dakota schools, the NDDPI, the Department of Career and Technical Education, and state information technology agencies. It can be found on the Department of Public Instruction website.

Baesler emphasized that implementing AI, like any other instructional tool, requires careful planning and alignment with educational priorities, goals, and values.

She stressed that humans should always monitor AI usage and check its output for errors, following a Human-Technology-Human process. “We need to emphasize that we need to keep the most important thing the most important thing, and that is preparing our young learners for their next challenges and goals,” Baesler said.

Steve Snow and Kelsie Seiler of the NDDPI Office of School Approval and Opportunity noted that the guidelines come from various state education agencies and technology websites, such as Code.org and TeachAI.org. The process takes about eight months.

“We had a team that looked at guidelines from other states, and we pulled pieces from different sources and actually put together guidelines that were specifically tailored to students in North Dakota,” Snow said.

Seiler explained that AI excels at data analysis, predictive analytics and automating repetitive tasks, but it lacks emotional intelligence, interdisciplinary research and problem-solving skills.

Snow added that AI can help teachers design lesson plans that align with North Dakota’s academic content standards and quickly adjust them for students who need more support. AI can also simplify the development of personalized learning plans for students.

“You have so many resources (teachers) can use that make your life a lot easier,” Snow said. “I want the teachers, administrators and staff to feel comfortable using (AI) so they feel a little more comfortable talking to kids about it.”

Seiler noted that the NDDPI guidelines are not a manual for using AI, but provide general suggestions for developing local policies to leverage AI effectively.

“Our guidelines are intended to provide some tools for school leadership and say, ‘Here are some things to think about as you implement your own AI guidelines,’” Snow said.

“For example, do you have the infrastructure to support (AI)? Do you have a professional development plan so that your teachers can understand it? Do you have governance that indicates what AI can and cannot be used for?”