When students at Nebraska's largest school district return this fall, they'll face a new rule: using generative AI to complete assignments without teacher approval or proper citation is now considered cheating. The Omaha Public Schools District added the policy to its Code of Conduct over the summer, alongside a new website tab to help families discuss AI at home.
It's one example of how Nebraska schools are grappling with a question many districts nationwide face: how much AI regulation is enough. More than 80% of teachers reported using an AI tool in the 2023-24 school year, according to a Center for Democracy & Technology survey. The Pew Research Center found that more than half of teenagers say they've used an AI chatbot for schoolwork or finding information.
Policies vary by district
Westside Community Schools in Omaha has a dedicated AI page outlining ethical use and a sample syllabus statement for high school teachers. Approved tools include Google Gemini and Apple Intelligence for students in grades 7-12 and all staff. Lincoln Public Schools allows teachers access to Google Gemini tools but does not provide AI access for students. Students must cite any work developed using generative AI.
At the college level, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln updated its policy to clarify that taking work from any entity, including AI, is cheating. Instructors set their own syllabus policies on AI. The university recently launched the NU AI Institute to study how faculty and staff use the technology.
"A lot of those policies actually put the classroom practitioner in the position to be the one who makes the decision as to the degree to which AI maybe becomes a part of the learning experience," said Andrew Easton, chief learning officer for the Nebraska Educational Service Unit Coordinating Council.
From policy to practice
Eileen Heller, an education consultant at Educational Service Unit #3 in the Omaha area, said seven of the 18 districts the ESU serves have an AI policy. The real challenge is translating those documents into classroom practice.
"We've dealt with that even here at ESU 3. We have an AI policy, but that policy is written for lawyers," Heller said. "It's really written for that lawyer to be able to protect you if ever needed in a court case, but when I read that policy, that policy just looks scary to me. It tells me I can't do things with it. I just kind of shut down."
Heller advises teachers to focus on learning goals. "You want them doing the analysis. You want them doing the summary creation, whereas you can lift up the AI to assist them in things like brainstorming topics or taking their writing piece and asking it for feedback."
ESU 3 is planning a four-day regional training series spread across the school year - September, November, January and March - to help school teams map out their approach to AI use.
David Kraus, superintendent of Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca, said his district gives teachers individual discretion on AI use. He sees teachers starting to experiment with it after training from an ESU representative. "It reminds me of when COVID hit us, and all of a sudden we had to be expert leaders in COVID," Kraus said. "It's similar now with AI, where we need to be the leaders of AI and policy and protection, and I don't think we have the quick knowledge."
His son, Landry Kraus, a soon-to-be freshman in the district, spent the summer in Boston with 98 other students drafting a proposed bill on AI in schools. The group, which included school superintendents and MIT facilitators, wrote "The Student First Act," covering AI literacy instruction, bans on AI use before eighth grade, and allowing students and teachers to choose whether to use AI. "We grew into this. We know how to use it in ways that they don't," Landry said. "They haven't wrapped their minds around what it can do and how it can be good, but also how it can be bad."
Why this matters for education professionals
The gap between student AI use and teacher readiness is real: according to Deloitte, 76% of people ages 16 to 29 are using AI tools, compared to 35% of those over 46. Education professionals who develop AI for Education policies or curriculum are dealing with a workforce that lacks formal training. AI for Teachers Courses offer practical training to close that gap. Professional learning for educators in AI use isn't optional - it's the only way districts can translate policies into something students can trust and follow.
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