Arlington Public Schools is developing a new policy to address the use of AI and other emerging technologies.
The new “academic integrity policy” will contribute to “a broader framework for academic honesty and responsible learning” as APS continues efforts to navigate the possibilities and challenges of new tools, Christina Arpante, interim assistant superintendent for school and community relations, told ARLnow. She added:
“APS has been actively reviewing emerging AI tools and practices, collaborating with educators, providing professional learning for staff, communicating with families, and carefully considering instructional, ethical, privacy and security implications before expanding the use of AI in classrooms or operations.”
Last summer, after a pilot program last year that involved about 400 educators, APS selected SchoolAI as its primary AI tool for educators. In addition, staff will have access to Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini and NotebookLM for professional use.
The school system declared 2025-26 to be “the year of empowered learning,” designed to “support staff as they explore the role of generative AI in education and develop best practices for responsible, equitable, and innovative classroom use.”
At an April 2026 community forum on the topic, Superintendent Francisco Durán said:
“There’s a lot of challenges but also opportunities … we have really been looking at not just artificial intelligence but overall the use of technology and finding a way to ensure it is properly used and at the same time there are safeguards, at the same time ensuring we are not overly reliant on technology.”
At the forum, Durán said APS efforts were focused on providing the correct balance at specific grade levels.
“It’s a larger conversation we’re having, not just about AI,” he said. “There’s a lot of diverse perspectives.”
APS is not alone in trying to balance the impacts of AI. The Fairfax County School Board recently enacted sweeping restrictions on the use of generative AI products by elementary school students.
The Fairfax board also directed staff to come back by January with a comprehensive inventory on AI tools currently embedded in laptops and other devices issued to students by the school system.
Melanie Meren, a member of the Fairfax board, said limits on AI-assistance devices were needed.
Without guardrails, “we are allowing our students to take the easy way out when we are here to challenge them,” she said.
But another Fairfax School Board member, Robyn Lady, said the matter needed to be addressed in a nuanced way to not be overly onerous.
“If a kid is writing a paper in Word, how do you turn off spell check? How do you turn off grammar check?” she asked.
Just how complicated the conversation over AI can be was revealed earlier this year, when officials at Washington-Liberty High School sought to use an AI-based program for the reading of students’ names at the school’s graduation ceremony.
After community outcry, the plan was rescinded and the school returned to its century-old tradition of having staff members read names as graduates received diplomas.
Mary Stachyra Lopez contributed to this report.
Photo via Anastassia Anufrieva/Unsplash
