School-Wide Policy on AI
Guiding Philosophy
BWL believes that learning is, and will remain, a fundamentally human endeavor. At the same time, artificial intelligence is a powerful and rapidly evolving tool that is already shaping how people work and think. Our goal is to prepare every member of our community to use it ethically, critically, and intentionally, and in ways that amplify human cognition rather than replace it.
This policy is designed to support the integration of AI tools across all divisions, enhancing learning outcomes while protecting the privacy and integrity of our school community. Generative AI will never replace the irreplaceable: the meaningful relationships between students and teachers, and the rich learning that emerges from human connection. It applies to students, faculty, and staff in all instructional and school-related contexts.
Guided and Purposeful Use
AI tools must be used with clear educational intent and in alignment with class expectations and teacher guidelines. The following principles apply across all divisions:
- AI is a supplementary tool for learning, not a replacement for original thought, effort, or skill development.
- Every teacher at BWL will communicate expectations around AI use to their students. While the frequency and nature of AI use may vary by course and discipline, expectations for appropriate use will be consistent across classes.
- Students and faculty alike recognize that AI is most effective and most reliable when the user brings domain knowledge and judgment to evaluate its output. Without that expertise, AI can produce inaccurate or misleading results, and uncritical reliance on those results undermines genuine learning.
AI Literacy
A core goal of AI integration at BWL is building every student's capacity to think critically about AI: how it works, what it can and cannot do, and what it means to use it responsibly.
AI literacy at BWL includes:
- Understanding the capabilities and limitations of AI tools, including their potential for bias, error, and hallucination
- Developing the habit of fact-checking AI output against reliable, primary sources
- Learning to prompt effectively and understanding that how a question is asked shapes the quality of the answer
- Building an ethical framework for AI use that considers honesty and intellectual ownership, and the impact of AI on individuals and society
AI literacy expectations will deepen as students move through the school. What this looks like in practice will evolve by grade level and division, with more structured, teacher-directed use in the lower grades and more independent, critically informed use in the upper grades. A scope and sequence for AI literacy across K–12 is in development and will be shared with the community as it is finalized.
Academic Integrity and Authorship
AI use that substitutes for a student's own thinking, research, or writing without disclosure and explicit teacher permission is a violation of BWL's Academic Integrity policy.
Authorship matters. There is a meaningful difference between using AI as a thinking aid (e.g., to organize ideas you already have, receive feedback, check grammar, or explore a concept) and using AI to generate work that you then submit as your own. BWL defines student-authored work as work in which the student has done the core intellectual and creative labor: forming the ideas, constructing the argument, and making the decisions that drive the final product. When AI assists in that process, students are required to disclose its use as directed by their teacher.
Teachers will communicate clearly for each assignment what forms of AI use, if any, are permitted.
Approved Platforms and Access by Division
Lower School (K–5):
Student access to AI tools on school devices is limited to approved platforms integrated with school accounts. Currently, the approved student-facing platform is MagicSchool.AI. Students may not independently access other AI platforms (including but not limited to ChatGPT, Gemini, or Copilot) for school-related work.
Middle School (6–8):
The approved AI platform for student use is MagicSchool.AI, which is integrated with our Google Single Sign-On (SSO) for secure access.
Students should not use other AI platforms for school-related work unless a teacher has explicitly authorized a specific use for a specific purpose.
Upper School (9–12):
Upper School students will increasingly encounter AI tools in academic and professional contexts. Teachers may authorize the use of additional AI platforms when aligned with a specific learning goal and communicated in advance. Any use must comply with policies around disclosure, academic integrity, and data privacy.
Data Privacy and Security
BWL holds all AI tools to the highest standards of data privacy and security. Any AI tool used in school by students, faculty, or staff must operate in full compliance with school policy and applicable law, and must meet the privacy standards we uphold across all of our technology practices.
A Note to Families
BWL is committed to approaching AI with transparency, intentionality, and educational purpose. We understand that families have questions and concerns, and that those concerns are reasonable. Our stance is that students deserve to understand it deeply, use it wisely, and bring critical judgment to every interaction with it.
We are committed to communicating about how AI is used in our classrooms and to updating our practices as this technology, and our collective understanding of it, continues to evolve.
This policy will be revisited and updated on an ongoing basis in partnership with faculty, students, and families.
