Score: +1
(7/7/6)
Orange County Grand Jury
• 2023-2024
• Agency Response
Grove September 12, 2024 The Honorable Maria D. Hernandez Presiding Judge Orange County Superior Court*
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 3 findings
F1
Orange County's K-12 public schools have implemented policies and/or guidelines around the use of different AI platforms in varying and inconsistent ways. Some prohibit AI's use; others allow it: and some don't have policies or guidelines governing AI at all. Response: The District partially disagrees with the finding. The District cannot comment on other districts' policies and/or guidelines around the use of AI platforms. As it pertains to the Garden Grove Unified School District, we as such, have not prohibited AI but have developed basic guidelines for students and staff on the appropriate and responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI). AI Guidance Documents include: Guiding Principles for AI Use . Responsible Use of AI Tools: for Student Learning and for Teacher Support Prohibited Use of AI Tools Parent Engagement . The Honorable Maria D. Hernandez Presiding Judge, Orange County Superior Court September 12, 2024 The responsible, safe, and ethical use of district technological resources to support student learning is outlined in Administrative Regulation sections 6142.1 and 6143.1. Technology access, appropriate use, and annual notifications of the internet policy provided to parents and guardians are outlined in Board Policy section 6142. We will continue to examine the role of AI in the future.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
By June 30, 2025, Orange County's K-12 schools should implement policies and guidelines regarding the appropriate use of AI. These may be provided at the district level or within individual schools through the adoption of an Acceptable Use Policy, Code of Ethics, or other written directives addressing the use of AI. Response: The District will implement this recommendation by June 30, 2025, and is actively working toward this goal with a clear action plan. First, the GGUSD, in collaboration with OCDE and local districts, are currently analyzing existing AI policies to draft our local policy. This collaborative approach ensures that our guidelines will be in alignment with best practices across the county but are also tailored to meet the specific needs of our community.
F2
Superintendents provide varying levels of support in implementing AI policies and/or guidelines in their respective school districts. Response: The District partially disagrees with the finding. The District partially disagrees in that it cannot comment on the superintendent's level of support in implementing AI policies and/or guidelines in other districts. As it pertains to The Garden Grove Unified School District, the Superintendent is committed to ensuring that the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in our schools is carried out ethically, responsibly, and safely for all stakeholders. The Superintendent supported the development of AI Guidelines for GGUSD, and as AI technology continues to evolve, our superintendent remains an advocate for the development and enforcement of regulations and policies that prioritize the well-being of our students, staff, and community. Additionally, the Superintendent has also supported our existing platforms that incorporate AI. The district has taken significant steps to ensure that our teachers are equipped to use these tools effectively through comprehensive professional development sessions provided prior to the start of the school year and ongoing through the school year to support educators in integrating AI into their work life and teaching practices in a safe, ethical, and responsible manner. The Superintendent has also encouraged collaboration with other districts. In the 2023-2024 school year, our district began examining how other districts utilize AI, attended summits and conferences, and actively participated in the OCDE AI Forward workgroups, all of which will continue through the 2024-2025 school year. The Superintendent is committed to using AI as a tool to enhance education while upholding the highest standards of safety and responsibility. The Honorable Maria D. Hernandez Presiding Judge, Orange County Superior Court September 12, 2024
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Superintendents should ensure that their schools have policies that cover, at a minimum: the scope, guiding principles, and training regarding the responsible use of AI tools by students and teachers; any prohibited uses of special considerations regarding AI tools; and related security, privacy, and safety considerations. Response: The recommendation requires further analysis. The District is committed to developing and implementing policies that ensure the responsible use of AI in schools by addressing the scope, guiding principles, training, prohibited uses, and security considerations. The on-going review of our district policies and District Technology Plan will ensure that our policies evolve with technological advancements and continue to support the safe and responsible use of AI in our schools.
F3
There are many resources to guide educators in using AI. Several are available at the local level through the Orange County Department of Education, Orange County Board of Education, CEO Leadership Alliance Orange County, and Orange Unified School District Technology Department, to name a few. However, utilization and even awareness of the availability of such resources is highly variable across school districts. Response: The District partially disagrees with the finding. The District does not have firsthand information regarding the utilization and awareness of the availability of the AI resources across school districts. AI resources have been consistently shared and discussed at monthly scheduled district wide Technology Coordinator meetings with representatives from all schools to ensure coherence regarding AI information across the school district. In the 2023-2024 school year, the Instructional Technology department introduced resources focused on enhancing teacher productivity and student availability of AI tools. This was followed by Super Week professional development sessions integrating Artificial Intelligence to start the 2024-2025 school year. Looking ahead we remain committed to gathering and sharing AI resources to support educators and enhance student learning. A key focus this year will be continuing to build teacher capacity, ensuring that our staff is well equipped to integrate AI tools effectively into their teaching practices. Another goal is to raise district-wide awareness of the various AI tools and resources available to improve student outcomes and teacher efficiency. The Honorable Maria D. Hernandez Presiding Judge, Orange County Superior Court September 12, 2024
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
K-12 students should be trained on the appropriate use of AI. Response: The recommendation requires further analysis. The District's further analysis regarding this recommendation will be completed and reviewed by the District's superintendent, who will inform the governing board before December 13, 2024. The Honorable Maria D. Hernandez Presiding Judge, Orange County Superior Court September 12, 2024 The District recognizes the importance of training TK-12 students on the appropriate and responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the district has determined that this recommendation requires further analysis to ensure a comprehensive approach to AI training for students. Current AI training initiatives for students include: . Cyber Cop Assemblies: Starting the 2024-2025 school year, we are including AI components in district wide cyber safety assemblies. This is a valuable method in integrating AI safety and ethical use training into our existing student programs. Khanmigo: AI training through the Khanmigo pilot program will be introduced to students of the AVID program, in targeted groups for extended learning, and for select groups of students and classrooms. This initiative towards building student capacity of AI personalized learning and tutoring will continue through the 2024-2025 school year. Additionally, we will continue to survey our Technology Coordinators and district leadership to assess existing gaps and opportunities for further training. We are committed to ensuring that our students not only use AI tools effectively but also understand the ethical implications of AI in their education and daily lives. We look forward to finalizing our analysis and moving forward with a robust plan to prepare our students for a future where AI plays an increasingly significant role.
Agency Responses 10
Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.
* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.