Five AI questions for your next board meeting

An AI discussion is easier to lead when it ends in decisions someone can own. Start with a real school activity: communicating with families, preparing lessons, or helping staff find a policy. Different uses deserve different questions.

The California Department of Education’s AI guidance explicitly distinguishes advisory guidance from legal requirements. Its stated focus is California public schools. Private-school leaders can use the questions below while checking which requirements apply to their own institution. Read CDE’s scope and guidance.

1. What problem are we trying to solve?

Describe the current process and who finds it difficult. Name the result you want to improve. “Use AI” is not an outcome; a clearer answer, a shorter queue, or a better-prepared staff member can be.

2. What information would the tool receive?

Separate published information from information about an individual. Ask your privacy and technology leads to review actual data flows, contracts, and access. Avoid deciding from a vendor’s headline alone.

3. What stays with a person?

Write down the decisions and conversations that need professional judgment. Assign the receiving person or office and explain how the handoff works outside normal hours.

4. What do staff and families need to know?

A short explanation should describe the use, its limits, the human contact, and where questions can be raised. Give staff examples of allowed practice as well as the policy itself.

5. How will we know whether to continue?

Choose a small starting scope. Before rollout, agree on who reviews the results, which examples they will inspect, and what would cause a pause. Include feedback from the people doing the work.

This web briefing offers a meeting agenda. It is not a statement that every school has the same legal obligations.