By Haley Thomas, contributor
After nine months of work by a task force, the Harrisonburg City Public School Board is poised to adopt guidelines for the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in classrooms. The policy focuses on balancing innovation with ethical responsibility, ensuring that AI complements — not replaces — the district’s human-centered approach to education.
The task force, which Superintendent Michael Richards created last May, includes Director of Innovation for Instruction and Leadership Deb Cook, Director of Technology Kevin Perkins, school board member Emma Phillips, as well as several principals and coordinators.
“We recognized that there were crucial voices missing,” Cook said during Tuesday’s school board work session. “We wanted holistic, cultural, school, and departmental representation. Generative AI means something very different to an English department than it does to a math department, right?”
Over three phases, the group expanded its membership to include building administrators, teaching staff and others. Cook, who spearheaded the task force, said members of the group want the community to understand the why behind their work.
“We wanted to make sure that no one in the community felt like we as a school system were saying that this technology could replace human-ness and relationships and the importance of every single individual that works in the district,” Cook said. “No technology can replace the connections that happen in the classroom, or in front offices, or in hallways or cafeterias.”
Cook said the task force based its recommendations on three essential questions:
- How can AI address core educational challenges while maintaining human-centered relationships?
- What skills and strategies do students need to thrive in a globally connected, AI-infused world?
- What guidance is needed for educators, students, families, and communities to embrace AI’s opportunities while mitigating risks?
Using these questions, the group outlined both recommended and prohibited uses for generative AI within the school system.
Recommended uses include:
- HCPS Supports Staff Use of Generative AI for: Continued professional learning, enhancing pedagogical effectiveness, and differentiating learning for students, providing suggestions for teaching those needing additional support.
- HCPS Supports Student Use of Generative AI for: Aiding creativity, brainstorming, supporting study skills, and first-language supports.
- HCPS Supports School Management & Operations Use of Generative AI for: Streamlining administrative tasks and improving communication.
A key concern the task force had was inherent biases within generative AI tools, which are trained on human data and can therefore reflect societal inequities.
“AI disproportionately impacts certain groups and certain populations in negative ways,” Cook said, adding that non-native English speakers’ work is often falsely flagged by AI-detection tools as plagiarism. She said these tools are faulty, and that teachers should instead rely on what they always have: knowing their students’ voices.
Cook also warned against sharing identifiable student, staff, or school information with generative AI.
“Anything that you feed AI feeds the larger model,” Cook said. “Our constituents deserve their privacy, so we want to be really mindful of that.”
Cook said the importance of professional learning for staff and transparency with the community to address these challenges.
As for next steps, she said the task force will work with Chief Academic Officer Joy Blosser to establish a concrete AI policy that students and teachers can use for training. Next comes selecting which generative AI platforms to champion, as well as inviting families to AI information sessions.
“We want to walk our families next to us in this work,” Cook said. “Not drag them behind us.”
Board member Kristen Loflin said she’s excited for the new tools students have access to. She said trying to take AI away from students at this point would be like “taking graphing calculators away from calculus students.”
Board member Kaylene Seigle said it took her a while to get on board with generative AI.
“I was one of the ones who was very skeptical,” Seigle said. “But back in November [2024] at the Virginia School Board Association conference, they had a breakout session about AI…it was a cool experience to go through with others and I just really enjoy learning about it more.”
City elementary schools to add 15 minutes to end of school day
The city schools are addressing instructional hours lost to weather-related closures by extending the elementary school day. Starting Feb. 3, each school day will last 15 minutes longer, helping schools exceed the state-mandated 990-hour requirement and creating a buffer for potential future closures.
Currently, elementary schools are set to meet 983.67 hours, while middle and high schools remain above the requirement because their school days already are slightly longer. The additional time would build 19.5 hours into the schedule, equivalent to more than three days of instruction.
This proposal would avoid eliminating days from spring break or teacher work days.
School officials are working with principals to determine how to best use the added time and coordinating with after-school programs to ease potential scheduling conflicts for families. Chief of Staff Sal Romero said that transportation logistics would not be significantly affected, as bus schedules can be adjusted to accommodate the extended day.
“This plan will be the least disruptive to families and staff,” Richards said, “instead of lopping off a day of spring break and making it an instructional day, or taking away a professional development day from our teachers.”
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