Practical educator reference
Ethical AI guidelines for teachers.
A concise decision guide for using AI without surrendering privacy, authorship, equity, or the human relationships at the center of learning.
Start with the learning purpose
Name what learners should understand or be able to do before choosing a tool. Do not use AI simply because it is available.
Protect student information
Use school-approved systems and the minimum data needed. Never place names, records, disability information, behavior, health, family, or other protected details into an unapproved AI tool.
Match use to age and readiness
Younger learners need closer adult guidance, simpler boundaries, and non-AI options. Check provider age terms before asking students to use a service.
Preserve meaningful thinking
Decide which analysis, struggle, practice, creativity, and communication must remain the learner's own. AI should support the goal, not quietly remove it.
Make permission explicit
State whether AI is prohibited, supervised, or allowed for each task. Explain permitted uses such as brainstorming, feedback, translation, coding, or editing.
Require verification
Treat confident output as a claim, not proof. Check facts, citations, quotations, calculations, images, and code against reliable original sources.
Teach disclosure and authorship
Learners should identify meaningful AI assistance and preserve prompts or process evidence when required. They remain responsible for everything submitted in their name.
Keep consequential decisions human
A qualified person must make and explain decisions involving grades, discipline, admissions, accommodations, support services, employment, safety, or another person's opportunities.
Plan for fairness and access
Consider who benefits, who may be misrepresented or excluded, whether outputs reproduce bias, and whether every learner has an equitable non-AI route.
Review the real result
Monitor whether the use improved learning, privacy, participation, and judgment. Stop or redesign a use when its harms, workload, or loss of learning outweigh its benefit.
Independent-school educator and technology leader with experience in teaching, faculty development, school operations, responsible AI, and applied educational research.
Guidance is checked against primary sources and revised as technology, research, and institutional expectations change.
Primary guidance behind this resource
This educator reference is informed by human-centered education guidance, risk-management frameworks, and U.S. student-privacy resources. It is educational guidance, not legal advice.