The new briefs include:
AI Procurement: Key insights for board members: Learn how boards can navigate the technological shifts associated with AI and pinpoint recommendations for procurement that deal with key aspects such as insurance, joint powers authority and piggybacking.
Using AI to Reduce Administrative Burdens: Find out how AI can potentially help streamline processes and remove duplication for educators and administrators.
The Board’s Role in AI Decision-making: Discover the key responsibilities board members have in establishing the conditions for the effective and ethical use of AI tools at the local level.
Guidance: AI tools used by educators: Learn more about typical AI tools widely used in TK-12 educational settings that board members should be familiar with in order to set appropriate policy at the local educational agency level.
“These resources reflect the AI Taskforce’s best thinking about AI and what board members and governance teams need to know to make the best decisions on behalf of the students they serve,” said Research and Education Policy Development Chief Dr. Naomi Eason. “Conversations at the local level have likely expanded beyond cheating and plagiarism and morphed into both broader and deeper issues related to educator and student use of AI. It is our intention to make available timely resources for CSBA members to help navigate these complex waters.”
Accompanying the new suite of briefs are letters reflecting on the work of the AI Taskforce by CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy and Taskforce Chair Susan Markarian, Pacific Union Elementary School District board president.
“Our taskforce’s commitment is to ensure that AI development aligns with the values of transparency, accountability and inclusivity,” wrote Markarian. “We invite you to use these publications with your board and join us in shaping a future where AI serves preK-12 students, enhances our quality of life and addresses the challenges we face in public education. Together, let us embark on this journey toward a responsible, safe and equitable AI-driven future.”
“In May 2023 — months before many other organizations began formal AI initiatives — I brought to CSBA’s Board of Directors the urgent need to address AI through the creation of an AI Taskforce,” wrote Billy. “This once-in-a-generation technological advancement was certain to reshape education, the economy and society and we knew we need to act to support the membership. While many conversations across government and industry have focused narrowly on classroom use, the taskforce’s work addresses the full scope of AI’s implications for public schools — from ethics, legal compliance and privacy to procurement, labor relations and instructional innovation — making it one of the first and most complete field-ready policy frameworks available to education leaders anywhere in the country.