The Lyon County School Board approved the first reading of a new policy governing the use of artificial intelligence in schools during its Jan. 27 meeting, establishing a framework district officials say is necessary as AI becomes an increasingly common part of students' academic and personal lives.
Executive Director for Educational Services Jim Gianotti said the policy is designed to enhance learning, ensure safety, and protect academic integrity while giving teachers and students clear expectations for responsible use. He said the district based the policy on the STELLAR framework (security, transparency, empowerment, learning, leadership, achievement and responsible use) and expects it to evolve as the technology does.
"It is a meaty policy and will likely need to evolve as the technology does," Gianotti said. "But by approving this policy, the board ensures the district will remain at the forefront of educational innovation while maintaining high standards of safety, ethics and legal compliance."
Trustee James Whisler asked what kind of training students and staff would receive on the appropriate and inappropriate uses of AI. Gianotti said professional development will be necessary, particularly at the middle and high school levels where students are already using AI tools outside of school.
"Our kids are plugged in quite a bit of their day, and not always while at school," he said. We have not developed PD at this point, but with the approval of this policy, that's something that we will be working on, and we will have to go through with not only our teachers and staff, but our students as well."
Whisler also asked how the district would monitor ethical use, a requirement outlined in section 3.6 of the policy. Gianotti said oversight will occur through classroom practice, administrative monitoring and teacher review of student work.
"Teachers already have to vet whether information in research papers is factual," he said. "There are ways to check accuracy and ensure students truly know the material."
Gianotti said the Lyon Online program already uses tools to detect AI-generated work, and teachers there routinely verify whether assignments were created by bots.
"It's a constant effort by teachers to review the material and make sure that what the kids are turning is not created or spawned (by AI)," he said.
Trustee Elmer Bull pointed to a section of the policy stating that the extent of AI use in assignments will be determined by individual educators and asked how the district would ensure consistency across classrooms.
Gianotti said much of that will be addressed through professional development and ongoing administrative oversight. He said principals already monitor curriculum implementation, pacing and instructional practices, and AI integration will become another part of that work.
He added that teachers must continue verifying that students understand the material they submit. He referenced a stakeholder meeting at the University of Nevada, Reno, where engineering faculty expressed concern that students were relying on AI for calculations and design work.
"It's a real fear," he said. "But I think the important thing is for our teachers to check and ensure that our student truly know the material and to determine whether or not the students have the knowledge truly or if something is created through AI."
Trustee Kallie Day asked whether the district's cyberbullying policies would need to be updated to address AI-driven harassment, including deepfakes.
Superintendent Tim Logan said existing discipline policies already cover cheating, plagiarism and cyberbullying, and AI-related misconduct would fall under those categories for now.
"If I were to say right now, we would find it under a category that we needed to make sure a consequence was issued if there was intention for harm or something of that nature," Logan said, adding that the discipline plan may need updates as AI evolves.
Day also asked whether the district planned to use a specific AI platform. Gianotti said the district expects to rely primarily on Google Gemini, which is included in the district's Google for Education licensing.
Teachers already use a variety of AI tools, Gianotti said, but the district does not plan to open all of them to students.
Logan said Gemini offers stronger protection for student data than open-source tools.
"With the professional Google Suite, it doesn't go out into open AI," he said. "If my kid enters something or I enter student data, it stays within ours."
Trustee Sherry Parsons said teachers and administrators are gaining a better understanding of AI, sharing an example of her daughter using an AI-generated scavenger hunt around Fernley. She said the experience showed how creative AI can be but also noted concerns about deepfakes and identity misuse.
"AI is a wonderful thing," Parsons said. "But the bad stuff is coming, too."
Gianotti said those concerns reinforce the need to teach students how to use AI responsibly.
"This is going to be their world moving forward," she said. "To not give them those tools would almost be criminal."
Board President Tom Hendrix questioned the use of the term "misinformation" in the ethical-use section, saying that during the COVID-19 pandemic things that were labeled as misinformation were later determined to be true. He asked how the district would determine what qualifies as misinformation. Logan suggested removing the term misinformation from the policy.
Gianotti said the district's goals are straightforward.
"Ultimately, we want to keep kids safe," he said. "We want to ensure academic integrity. We just want to make sure our kids are doing the right thing and are learning how to use the tool appropriately."
The vote to approve the policy as a first reading passed unanimously and it will be brought back for approval as a second reading at a future meeting.
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