Document intended to help schools, districts navigate complex issues around emerging technology
By PETER HANCOCK
Capitol News Illinois
phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com
Story Summary
The Illinois State Board of Education recently released a guidance document intended to help schools and districts make decisions about whether and how to use artificial intelligence in classrooms and school operations.
Illinois lawmakers called for the guidance amid growing concerns about the misuse of AI and the harmful effects it can have on student learning.
The 409-page document includes a disclosure that some of the content was developed with the use of AI tools like ChatGPT. One advocate says that disclosure is a good example of how AI can be used ethically.
This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Board of Education released new guidelines recently on how schools should and should not use artificial intelligence in K-12 education.
One of the most notable aspects of the AI guidelines, however, is that it was written with help from popular AI programs including ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini.
Bill Curtin, Illinois policy director for the nonprofit advocacy group Teach Plus, one of the groups that pushed for the guidance, called that an example of how AI should be treated in academic fields.
“Upfront, they said, ‘We did use AI,’ and they were very clear and specific about how they used AI,” Curtin told Capitol News Illinois. “And that actually builds trust because these days you can look at almost anything that anyone writes and wonder if it's AI. It's much better when, upfront, you say: ‘We did use AI, and here's where, and here's where the human element is really still seen in this guidance.’”
Growing concerns over AI
The guidance was issued after the General Assembly passed legislation in 2025 requiring ISBE to develop guidelines on using AI in education. Senate Bill 1920 came amid growing concern about students using AI programs like ChatGPT to help them with research or even to write essays.
At the same time, teachers and administrators were also looking for guidance on constructive ways they could use AI for things like developing lesson plans or grading students’ work.
A 2024 survey of Illinois educators conducted by Teach Plus and the Illinois Digital Educator Alliance, or IDEA, found a common concern that misuse of AI could threaten student learning. Respondents also expressed concerns that AI systems could endanger student privacy and expose them to inaccurate or even harmful information.
“Schools are behind,” one educator responding to the survey said. “Students utilize AI often, and we have nothing in place. It is a bit like the Wild West right now.”
The legislation directed ISBE to develop guidance that would include, among other things, “specific ways artificial intelligence can be used at the district, school and classroom levels to inform teaching and learning practices.”
It also called for guidance on “best practices for developing student literacy in artificial intelligence and engaging students in age-appropriate discussions on the responsible and ethical use of artificial intelligence.”
ISBE guidance
That guidance was released on July 9. The 409-page document was developed with input from a blue-ribbon panel of experts in education, technology and public policy. But it also includes a note saying, “Initial drafts for this guidance used AI (ChatGPT primarily but, to a lesser extent, Claude and Gemini).”
It goes on to say that after initial language was crafted, the authors used AI prompts to find links and verification that outside resources were publicly verifiable and available.
The note also says AI was used to generate and edit graphic figures used in the document. And it says AI was used to polish the text by asking questions such as “what might be missing from this section,” or “what would be clearer in this section.”
And in places where AI was used to generate information, the note says that information was vetted outside of AI.
The guidance itself, however, emphasizes that teaching and learning are shaped by human relationships and experiences, and that artificial intelligence is only a tool to inform teaching and learning, not a substitute for human interaction.
“Our responsibility is to help schools navigate new technologies in a way that strengthens instruction, protects students, and builds trust for informed AI use between districts and the families and communities they serve,” State Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders said in a statement.
The document itself is dense with academic and education-related language. And while it does not lay out rules or mandates about how schools and districts should use AI, it does offer some practical advice for teachers and other professionals who are considering using AI in the classroom or in school operations.
For example, one section on selecting AI applications offers a list of questions teachers might ask before choosing an AI product such as “What is the learning problem I’m solving — and is AI the right tool for that problem?” And, “If AI were unavailable tomorrow, what would I do instead — and is that actually better for the learning goal?”
But when it comes to preventing students from using AI as a tool to cheat, Curtin said that’s an issue teachers have confronted since the advent of pocket calculators and personal computers.
“Students have always found ways to cheat, and teachers have always responded,” he said. “That's a practice-level issue. They're going to, given enough time to catch up and learn AI, find ways to adapt in the classroom to make sure that students are still learning. That's a practice issue, not a policy one.”
“A policy issue,” he continued, “is putting together the framework by which teachers can develop the skills and ethics and mindsets in students where they can really be successful and use it ethically.”
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
