Source: State News

State News reports that Ohio has established itself as a national leader in educational technology governance by enacting a law that makes it the first state in the United States to require all K-12 public schools to adopt formal policies regarding the use of artificial intelligence. This pioneering legislation addresses the rapid and often unregulated integration of AI tools like ChatGPT into the educational landscape. The law compels each of the state's school districts to develop and implement its own set of comprehensive guidelines for students and educators, moving from a patchwork of individual school rules to a statewide requirement for clear and consistent governance.

The mandated policies must cover several critical areas, including the ethical and acceptable uses of AI for academic work, clear definitions of plagiarism and cheating in the context of generative AI, and the protection of student data privacy. The legislation is designed to be proactive, aiming to harness the educational benefits of AI while mitigating its potential risks, such as the erosion of critical thinking skills and academic dishonesty. To assist the school districts in this new task, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce is charged with creating and distributing a model AI policy that districts can adapt to fit their local needs, ensuring a baseline standard of safety and integrity across the state's public education system.