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Brayden Morgan says artificial intelligence is here to stay and everyone should embrace it.

鈥淲e have to adapt. We have to stay up to date,鈥� said the 17-year-old high school senior and student member on the Anne Arundel County Board of Education. 鈥淲e have to learn about it and make sure our students know how to use it [the] right way [and] that they鈥檙e learning and not being enabled on technology.鈥�

That may be easier said than done.

The technology better known as 鈥淎I鈥� is already being used by students and teachers in Maryland schools. But the state has yet to develop specific statewide guidelines on how to effectively use the powerful new computing tool, and what guardrails to protect students from using it inappropriately, such as plagiarism on essay papers and other work.

State education officials have been working behind the scenes for more than a year on language, and county school systems have made tentative steps toward developing their own policies. But it鈥檚 been slow going.

Jing Liu said there鈥檚 a couple of reasons many school districts in Maryland, and the nation, don鈥檛 yet have artificial intelligence policies in place.

鈥淭he AI space is developing really, really fast. All the AI tools are developed at lightning speed,鈥� said Liu, an associate professor in education policy at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Liu, who鈥檚 also directs the school鈥檚 Center for Educational Data Science and Innovation, said evidence-based research needs to be done quickly to help inform policymakers and school district leaders on how to design AI policy. He said a policy would include certain tools used to meet education standards and guardrails to ensure appropriate uses.

鈥淚 think we are still at a very early stage in terms of understanding their [AI] impact,鈥� Liu said. 鈥淭here hasn鈥檛 been a lot of research looking at the impact of particular AI users on teacher and student learning outcomes.鈥�

Maryland education officials said they have been working behind the scenes on AI guidance for more than a year.

A from the state Board of Education summarizes artificial intelligence frameworks such as potential benefits like tutoring and personalized learning assistance, aiding creativity and collaboration and operational and administrative efficiency. Some of the risks are plagiarism and academic dishonesty, overreliance and loss of critical thinking, and perpetuating societal biases.

State Superintendent Carey Wright said in an interview Thursday that statewide guidance on AI could be released by the end of the school. In the meantime, Wright has advice for educators and other school leaders on effectively using AI in schools.

鈥淭he things that I would hope they鈥檙e doing is developing lesson plans that are aligned to our standards. That鈥檚 key because our statewide assessment is aligned to our standards,鈥� she said.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 want just a hodgepodge of things being taught,鈥� Wright said. 鈥淪o, anything that they can do that is going to make their life easier, but also guiding children in [what鈥檚] appropriate and what鈥檚 not appropriate, in terms of the use of AI.鈥�

School district look

A few school districts have implemented AI guidelines.

Prince George鈥檚 County school leaders began last school year that stresses professional learning, ethical considerations and curriculum integration.

For the 2025-26 school year that began last week, there will be follow-up meetings with stakeholders, training workshops for staff and school administrators to start assessing how to implement AI instruction in the classroom.

Students in can read about it in their new student code of conduct. The guidelines highlight definitions, educational and ethical uses, academic integrity and supervision and monitoring.

There鈥檚 also a warning for prohibited conduct: 鈥淎ny misuse of AI tools will be subject to disciplinary action. In certain circumstances, law enforcement may be notified.鈥�

Frederick County Superintendent Cheryl Dyson said the school board there is working on an artificial intelligence policy.

Last year, Dyson said curriculum writers used AI to generate topics related to the curriculum that young people would be interested in.

As for teachers, Dyson said they will not only know whether students produced their own work, but also help guide them to think critically.

鈥淲hen you learn [the abilities of] a student, you can tell when something is an anomaly,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really about explicit teaching of the writing process, or any process really about learning, because we want to know what they [students] know, not what the computer knows.鈥�

Maryland State Education Association president Paul Lemle provided an example on how he utilized AI last year as a social studies teacher. Lemle asked students to compare a few political ads, but he also required that they make ads of their own.

鈥淚t was OK for them to use AI in that assignment,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f they wanted to use it to research the ads that they were comparing, fine. If they wanted to use it to suggest lines in their script, fine.

鈥淏ut the AI couldn鈥檛 tell them this kind of ad will work in this kind of political context. They had to make that decision for themselves,鈥� Lemle said.

Tiffany Carpenter, 25, said she began to use artificial intelligence during the first week of school to help with a lesson plan for the entrepreneurship class she teaches at Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School in Prince George鈥檚 County. Part of that plan, she said, was utilizing AI to design a logo.

鈥淎I鈥檚 logo-making isn鈥檛 always perfect, so I just use that as a template so that I can get a start,鈥� said Carpenter, who鈥檚 going into her fourth year teaching at Wise. 鈥淚t鈥檚 giving you ideas, not the final product. That鈥檚 what I tell and show my students. AI is just a tool to help. They still have to do the work and learn from it.鈥�

But without a 100% guarantee, there remains an unknown that students can utilize that technology and easily obtain good grades.

鈥楧o more together鈥�

With an ongoing statewide and nationwide teacher shortage, aspiring teachers will need to be taught about how to effectively integrate artificial intelligence into the classroom.

Darilyn Mercadel is doing just that at Bowie State University, where she is teaching several classes and is the coordinator of elementary education programs in the school鈥檚 College of Education.

Before students are enrolled in college, high school students already know how to use AI technology through computer programs such as ChatGPT, developed and released in 2022 by OpenAI. ChatGPT can translate complex topics into simpler sentences. In addition, the user can ask questions through text, audio or even image prompts.

But Mercadel stressed there鈥檚 other programs such as Adobe Firefly that generate graphics and edit photos; Intellectus that analyzes and breaks down data; and the 鈥淪iri voice recognition program on iPhones.

Mercadel said students use a tutoring service program called 鈥淐ircleIn.鈥� Not only does the program provide academic support, it can also be used to collaborate with their peers. But to ensure aspiring educators, which she calls 鈥減reservice students,鈥� understand a particular topic, Mercadel will also give an oral exam.

鈥淭here are other means that we can assess students besides your usual paper, or your typical test that we used to give before AI,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ne thing about AI is that it鈥檚 a genie that鈥檚 out of the bottle. We鈥檙e not going to place that back.鈥�

The effectiveness of AI has decreased Mercadel鈥檚 time to plan her courses from about two weeks to an hour. She stressed the human element is integrated because 鈥淎I can鈥檛 do things that humans can do, which is the emotional side and the understanding of our students. It gives me more time to get to know my students and families.鈥�

Mercadel, who taught early childhood education in Prince George鈥檚 and Montgomery counties, said another positive with AI is interacting with students who may be hearing impaired.

鈥淣ow students are able to swipe that doesn鈥檛 require that occupational hand holding of a pencil and can tap or swipe to communicate. That鈥檚 a huge difference,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 assistive technology. We have these tools that make it easier, but that also gives us time to do more together.鈥�

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ChatGPT says it鈥檚 OK

As a policy, Maryland Matters does not use AI to write stories, but we did ask ChatGPT, one of the most popular programs, if AI should be allowed in K-12 classrooms for students and teachers. We were told in a split-second, 鈥淵es 鈥� with clear boundaries, ethical safeguards, and developmentally appropriate practices in place.鈥� Which it went on to list:

Why AI should be allowed in K-12

1. Enhances teaching and learning

• For Teachers:
  • Saves time (e.g., grading drafts, generating lesson plans, adapting materials).
  • Enables differentiated instruction and support for diverse learners.
• For Students:
  • Offers personalized learning (e.g., adaptive math platforms).
  • Improves accessibility (e.g., AI captioning, translation for ELLs).
  • Can support creativity and exploration (e.g., storytelling, art, simulations).

2. Builds essential future-ready skills

• AI literacy will be as critical as digital literacy.
• Students need to understand AI鈥檚 capabilities, limits, and ethical dimensions.
• Introducing AI responsibly prepares students for a workforce increasingly shaped by automation and machine learning.

3. Promotes equity (if managed carefully)

• With proper funding and access, AI can help close gaps in learning support.
• It can provide real-time feedback and scaffolding for students who need it most.

But use must be carefully controlled
AI should not be used indiscriminately. The risks of misuse, bias, over-reliance and data misuse are real, especially for younger students. Uses, by grade level, should be:

• Kindergarten-2nd grader should use teacher-controlled tools for tasks like speech-to-text, storoy generation and reading apps.
• Grades 3-5 should have high supervision with AI image tools, math help and idea generation.
• Grades 3-8 call for guided creative and assistive use for essay feedback, science simulations, chatbots.
• Grades 9-12 allow responsible, independent use for research, peer review, coding help and ethical analysis.

When AI should not be used

• For final grading decisions or disciplinary choices.
• As substitute for human connection, mentorship, or social-emotional support.
• In a surveillance capacity (e.g., emotion tracking, behavior prediction).
• Without full transparency with parents and students.

Final position: Allow AI, with guardrails

AI belongs in the classroom 鈥� not as a replacement for teachers or learning, but as a tool for enhancing both. Its use must be:

• Age-appropriate
• Ethically grounded
• Transparent
• Optional and opt-in where appropriate
• Accompanied by teacher training and student AI literacy education

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

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