The Pulse
Howard County Makes Teacher Approval the Default for Student AI
Howard County’s school board approved a policy making assignments AI-free unless a teacher permits AI use. The rules also set limits on staff use and require students and educators to receive AI literacy instruction.
AI.info Team · Written with AI · fact-checked ·
Nine standards, one classroom default
Nine standards now govern artificial intelligence use across Howard County’s school system, which serves more than 50,000 students. For student assignments, the baseline is straightforward: no AI unless the teacher allows it. The Board of Education approved the policy on Thursday, October 29, and it took effect immediately.
When teachers permit AI, students must follow the conditions set for the assignment, disclose or cite their use, and maintain academic integrity. The policy covers permitted and prohibited uses, privacy and security, human oversight, transparency, and vendor governance. Its approach leaves the decision about an assignment’s rules with the teacher rather than treating AI access as automatic permission to use it.
AI access does not mean permission for every assignment
The rule formalizes a distinction already present in the district’s approach to classroom technology. Howard County gave high school students access to Google Gemini in January, but the new policy does not make the tool an unrestricted option for schoolwork. Teachers can permit approved AI tools for specific assignments and define how students may use them.
The state’s Artificial Intelligence Ready Schools Act required local school systems to adopt policies aligned with Maryland State Department of Education guidance. Howard County approved its policy one week after the October 22 deadline, according to the report. It was one of four Maryland systems identified as missing that deadline, alongside Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County and Baltimore City.
Staff use is limited, too
The policy also draws boundaries around employees’ use of AI. Staff may use it for tasks such as lesson planning, drafting communications and translation, but not for grading, counseling or entering personally identifiable information, among other restrictions. The district plans AI literacy instruction for students and professional development for educators and staff.
“We recognize that technology can support instructional planning, provide additional resources and improve operational efficiency, but decisions that affect students must remain grounded in professional expertise, meaningful relationships, and an understanding of individual student needs,” Kisha Logan, the school system’s executive director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment, said at the board meeting.
Students want clearer rules and instruction
Board members raised questions about how the policy will work in practice. Antonia Watts asked whether families could opt their children out of AI use, citing parent feedback. Other members called for teacher training, including guidance to reduce the risk of wrongly accusing a student of using AI on an assignment.
Student board member Mark Li said students have told him the rules are difficult to find or unclear. He argued that AI literacy should involve more than telling students not to use the tools, particularly when students see teachers using AI to prepare assignments. “Teachers used AI, so there’s nothing wrong if I do it,” Li said, describing the conclusion some students may draw.
That tension now sits inside the policy’s classroom-by-classroom model: teachers set the conditions, students are expected to follow and document them, and the district must train both groups. The board meeting agenda identifies the vote as the second reading and action on Policy 3070, Responsible Use of AI in Teaching, Learning and School Operations.