LAND O’ LAKES, Fla. (WFLA) — Pasco County School District is changing its tune on the use of artificial intelligence in the classroom.
“You can no longer bury your head in the sand and say we’re not going to use AI because it’s literally everywhere,” said superintendent John Legg. “You just turn on your computer and AI is being used, so in essence you’re saying don’t use technology.”
The district will allow students to use Microsoft Copilot to help them with some of their work.
“Students are using AI right now,” said Legg. “The question is are we providing the guidelines and the expectations for them on how to use it.”
Legg says kids under 13 years old wouldn’t be allowed to use AI for school. He says part of the guidelines they’ve set require students to label which parts of their work were assisted by AI.
“Teachers may not want them to use it in a particular class and others may want them to use it based on the guidelines,” said Legg.
The district is leaving it up to teachers to decide what classwork will allow the use of AI and which assignments will have to be done the old-fashioned way.
“We want our students to be critical thinkers and independent thinkers but if we don’t provide the framework to use that tool they will become addicted and they will use it in the inappropriate way,” said Legg.
Legg tells me students may be allowed to do grammar and spelling checks, or use the technology to organize their thoughts when brainstorming.
Teachers in Pasco County have already been using Copilot to help them with their work, creating lesson plans or assignments. They’ll open that software up to students this December.
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