AI has arrived in Connecticut classrooms. Policy is playing catch-up.
Connecticut districts aren't waiting for the state to finish its guidance on artificial intelligence. They're moving ahead with their own rules on lesson design, academic integrity, and teacher training - and the results vary by town, grade level, and even classroom.
There's no statewide AI policy for K-12 yet. The Connecticut State Department of Education is developing comprehensive guidance now. "We want to get this right," said Irene Parisi, the department's chief academic officer. "If we go slow to go fast, then I think we will be prepared for any emerging technology that is going to come and hit a classroom."
Where policy stands
Unlike Massachusetts or Rhode Island, Connecticut hasn't issued formal AI rules for schools. Until state guidance lands, districts are using discretion to set their own standards, according to Fran Rabinowitz of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents.
Districts can reference the state's K-12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum and best practices previously released by the Commission for Educational Technology. Consider pairing those with national perspectives like the U.S. Department of Education's AI recommendations for teaching and learning. Read the ED report.
How AI shows up in classrooms
Westport is part of the state's AI pilot program and received $100,000 to deploy education-specific, privacy-protected tools and train staff, said Parisi. Early student feedback has been strong: "They said it was like having a teacher in their pocket."
Practical use cases include brainstorming, research support, feedback on drafts, and step-by-step help on problems. In a middle school social studies lesson, Westport students used AI to create and question "digital peers" from the Middle Ages while the teacher coached them to verify accuracy and evidence.
Torrington empowers high school departments to set course-by-course expectations. "The use of AI is very different in say, English class than it would be in science class," said Torrington High School Principal Brian Scott. In New Haven and Meriden, teachers set rules at the assignment level. "Depending on the course learning objectives, students might appropriately use AI to suggest research sources, to research questions, or to improve drafts," said New Haven Public Schools spokesman Justin Harmon.
Training and cost
Meriden is running workshops and peer-led training, said Susan Moore, director of instructional technology and curriculum. Westport can fund tools and professional learning through the pilot grant. Most other districts are absorbing costs through existing budgets and schedules, New Haven officials said.
The state is finalizing a no-cost, statewide professional learning plan districts can opt into, according to Parisi.
Academic integrity: guardrails, not gotchas
Districts are clear: AI can help, but it can't do the work for students. "We are very forthright with our kids that it should not be used as a replacement for doing the work themselves," Scott said.
Teachers in Torrington use tools like Turnitin to verify originality. Meriden uses tools that flag concerning chat activity and alert teachers - with a coaching mindset, not a "gotcha," Moore said. Districts are also exploring new citation expectations, including requiring prompts or transcripts to show how AI was used and how facts were checked.
Leaders report incidents of misuse, but not at overwhelming levels. "We always have a small number of students who make poor choices," Scott said. "Most of the staff have been pretty surprised to see that students have been responsible in their use of AI."
District snapshots
- Westport: Vision statement for AI, a strategic plan, and planned adoption of a Code of Ethics, an academic integrity policy, and the state's K-12 AI literacy curriculum. Focus: reduce administrative load, personalize learning, and design a more inclusive classroom - without automating teaching.
- New Haven: Policy outlines staff and student use, integrity expectations, and oversight. Emphasis on critical thinking: educators teach students to question, evaluate, and use AI as one resource among many. Higher use expected in writing-heavy upper grades.
- Meriden: AI isn't required in the curriculum, but digital literacy covers responsible use. Clear assignment-by-assignment expectations. Students are taught that AI can be inaccurate and biased - verify and cite.
- Torrington: Tech use is taught starting in grade 3; high school teachers set AI "do's and don'ts" and reinforce that using AI to do the work is plagiarism. Unauthorized AI use is covered in student discipline policy.
What district leaders can do now
- Set a clear district stance: where AI helps (feedback, planning, differentiation) and where it doesn't (replacing original student work).
- Publish classroom-level rules: what's allowed, what must be cited, and how to include prompts/transcripts in submissions.
- Choose education-safe tools: prioritize privacy, data minimization, and audit trails.
- Train staff: start with practical workflows (rubric design, feedback, IEP progress notes, parent communication).
- Update integrity policies: clarify plagiarism with AI, citation norms, and consequences focused on learning repair.
- Plan for budget and access: licenses, PD time, and equitable device availability.
- Teach verification: have students fact-check AI outputs and label sources of truth.
- Pilot, measure, iterate: collect examples, student work, and teacher feedback to inform policy.
If you're building staff capacity quickly, curated AI upskilling paths by role can help. Explore options at Complete AI Training.
What's coming from the state
The forthcoming K-12 guidance will inform local policy, position statements, professional learning, developmentally appropriate use, content standards, and communication, Parisi said. The state is also developing academic integrity guidance, updating AI literacy curriculum, and launching a statewide professional learning plan in the spring.
"Artificial intelligence is not going away," Parisi said. "We're talking about it, because we'll all be better for having that conversation."
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