Marshwood High School students Luci Cox and Zora Noble represented Maine in July at the inaugural Student Senate on artificial intelligence policy, held at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.
Luci and Zora, joined by Assistant Superintendent Heidi Early-Hersey, worked alongside student delegates representing all 50 states. The students considered how artificial intelligence should be used responsibly in public schools and how future policies should address the needs of students, families, teachers and administrators.
“Luci and Zora were amazing,” Early-Hersey said. “They took their roles as senators representing Maine very seriously and engaged in every aspect of the process, including working in subcommittees and standing to address the full Senate with their views.”
Delegates organized into four special subcommittees, debated and amended proposals, and voted as a full student senate. Their work resulted in the adoption of the STUDENT FIRST Act, short for Safe Technology Use, Data Privacy, and Ethical Norms for Teaching: Fostering Integrity and Responsible Systems in Teaching.
The student-developed framework contains five sections and addresses issues including AI literacy, student data privacy, appropriate classroom use, human oversight, accessibility, teacher training, family involvement and appeals when students are accused of misusing AI.
“I was surprised and impressed by the depth and complexity with which the students analyzed the issues surrounding AI,” Early-Hersey said. “They were able to clearly articulate the ways in which AI helps them and the ways they see it as harmful to themselves and their peers.”
The STUDENT FIRST Act is a student policy proposal developed through the national educational exercise. It is not federal legislation or an AI policy adopted by MSAD 35. It does, however, offer school leaders across the country a detailed account of what students believe should be considered as schools develop their own approaches to artificial intelligence.
Through their participation, Luci and Zora helped ensure that Maine students had a voice in that national conversation.
Find the NPR story by Cory Turner Here
Read the STUDENT FIRST Act and learn more about the inaugural Student Senate.
(Photo courtesy of Day of AI)