Episcopal School of Jacksonville sets classroom AI rules

Episcopal School of Jacksonville used faculty symposiums in June and July to build a schoolwide framework for artificial intelligence ahead of implementation this school year. The policy centers on human-led learning, age-based limits, and monitored use of approved tools across all three campuses.

Why it matters: - Episcopal School of Jacksonville is setting rules for how students and teachers use artificial intelligence before the technology becomes more embedded in coursework. - The school’s framework aims to keep AI as a learning tool, not a substitute for the work of thinking, revising, and problem-solving. - The policy affects students from preschool through grade 12 across all three campuses.

What happened: - Episcopal School of Jacksonville held a day-long AI symposium in June, followed by a second session in July. - Faculty from all three campuses took part in the sessions under the school’s AI Lab program. - The meetings were designed to produce working policy for implementation this school year. - The AI Lab is funded by a gift from the Cranberg family.

The details: - Faculty focused on what is essential in each discipline and how struggle in subjects such as mathematics, science, history, theology, and language builds student skills. - Natalie Herford, Head of Upper School, said the learning process itself cannot be replaced by AI. - Herford said Episcopal wants students to learn with AI ethically and purposefully as a tool that supports deeper thinking. - The school identifies judgment, creativity, curiosity, and moral reasoning as human qualities AI cannot replicate. - AI literacy is introduced in stages aligned to student development. - Preschool and lower elementary students do not use AI and instead discuss digital literacy and ethical technology use. - Fourth and fifth grade students may use AI through Flint, the school’s private platform, with faculty supervision. - Middle School students learn to prompt, inquire, and use AI as part of the educational process. - Lower School faculty can use the closed Flint AI platform for lesson planning and lesson exploration. - Middle school and high school faculty use consistent language and standards for AI in the classroom. - The AI Acceptable Use Menu sets six assignment categories: No Use, Inquiry, Tutoring, Research, Analysis, and Content Generation. - Each category carries disclosure and citation requirements. - The school’s five shared principles require AI use to be human-centered, learning-centered, age-appropriate and safe, ethical, and purposeful. - Approved platforms include FlintAI, NotebookLM, Canva, and tools within Adobe Creative Suite. - All authorized AI use is monitored by educators through the Flint platform. - Rev. Adam Greene, Head of School, said the faculty’s willingness to spend two sessions on the issue shows how seriously the school is taking it. - Greene said Episcopal is shaping its approach while the questions about AI are still open.

Between the lines: - Episcopal is taking a values-first approach instead of waiting for broader norms to settle. - The school’s policy tries to balance access to AI with a clear defense of human effort and disciplinary rigor. - The staged rollout suggests the school wants to normalize AI only when students are developmentally ready. - The emphasis on monitored, closed platforms signals caution around privacy, safety, and academic integrity.

What’s next: - Episcopal plans to implement the AI framework this school year. - The school’s faculty-guided policy work will likely continue as AI tools and classroom expectations evolve. - Students and teachers will use the new assignment categories and approved platforms under the school’s disclosure and citation rules.

The bottom line: - Episcopal School of Jacksonville is making AI a supervised classroom tool, not an open-ended shortcut, and is tying that choice to its broader educational mission.