CAMANO: School Board discusses expectations for AI use in classrooms

Libby Williams reports from the Stanwood-Camano School Board study session of Tue., May 6, 2025 for the Stanwood Camano News. Read the whole story.

A special school board meeting was held on Tuesday, May 6, to discuss how AI could be utilized in preparation for policy and procedure changes surrounding the issue.

Interim Superintendent Ryan Ovenell said there was a directive given by the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to have a districtwide policy regarding AI.

OSPI also directed school districts to provide “some procedures that help to guide staff and students in navigating AI, which is a new tool for many,” Ovenell said.

Director Charlotte Murry, Stanwood Middle School CTE teacher and yearbook advisor Mark Wayland, district technology specialist Carrie Counsellor and others — including parents and district staff — have been meeting in work groups since September to discuss how AI should be utilized in schools.

They Said It

“Our intent is that later this spring, we would make a recommendation on adjustment to policy and procedure to include AI in our policy … for our students to use AI in a safe way while on campus and while learning,” Ovenell said.

Director Miranda Evans said that at a Washington State School Directors’ Association event, several student representatives challenged the idea of banning AI, arguing that tools like editor and spell check are already allowed and count as AI.

“That was a very valid point,” she said. “They understand what it is and they know the difference and they’re smart enough to figure out how to get around it and what the loopholes are. So we don’t have zero AI, but we have very minimal.”

Evans pointed out that free versions of ChatGPT, or other AI search engines, tend to be less refined than paid versions, and that teaching students to specify what sources they want data pulled from is important.

She said it’s important to teach students how to understand the nature of the data, what it looks like, how to work with it in ways that are helpful rather than harmful, and where the data comes from.

Director Steve King said he wondered if there is concern that students will lose skills to do things they normally could without AI.

Evans and Ovenell expressed the importance of setting clear expectations for students on how much AI is appropriate for an assignment, as well as providing training for staff on how to implement those expectations.

On the Ballot in November 2025