NoVA Schools Work to Integrate AI Responsibly in Classrooms
Northern Virginia school districts are moving forward with artificial intelligence tools for teachers while maintaining strict controls on student access and data privacy. Fairfax County Public Schools, Prince William County Schools, and Loudoun County Public Schools have each taken different approaches to a shared challenge: how to allow educators to use AI without compromising student safety or academic integrity.
The urgency is real. An October 2025 College Board study found that 84 percent of high school students already use generative AI for schoolwork. School leaders say they cannot ignore the technology.
Teachers Get Approved Tools
In November 2025, FCPS and PWCS became among the first districts to roll out ChatGPT for Teachers, an OpenAI program designed specifically for classroom use. Unlike standard ChatGPT, this version includes data privacy protections that prevent student information from being used to train AI models.
Blake LoPresti, an English language arts teacher at Ronald Wilson Reagan Middle School in Prince William County, uses the tool to modify lesson plans and make content more accessible. "I can do all of that on my own, but it takes time," he said. "One of the biggest advantage of using AI in any profession is just speeding things up."
Brittany Sudberry, an English teacher at Woodbridge High School, used the tool to design an escape room activity. She fed it her learning goals and asked for clue suggestions. "It gave me a ton," she said.
Gautam Sethi, FCPS chief information technology officer, said the enterprise agreement ensures vendors protect data. "The data that our teachers may put in there is not used by the company to train their models or do anything else with it," he said.
Loudoun County's policy restricts staff to district-approved programs only. Aaron Smith, LCPS chief technology officer, compared approved tools to "swimming with a lifeguard on duty." Free tools, he said, carry greater risk.
Student Access Remains Limited
Schools are moving more cautiously with student access. Educators worry students will cheat or stop developing critical thinking skills. Yet blocking AI entirely may backfire.
Amy Allen, an assistant professor in the School of Education at Virginia Tech who studies AI in classrooms, said banning the technology is counterproductive. "Students are going to try to learn it and use it anyway," she said. "If we ban it, then now they're just using it without the benefit of having a teacher to help them navigate it."
PWCS gave high school students access to Copilot in February, paired with training on proper use. An online guide shows students which applications are acceptable and which are not.
Loudoun County has blocked generative AI from student computers while staff evaluates the programs. Smith said the district aims to roll out a student tool this year, but only after establishing monitoring and support systems.
Spotting Misuse
Teachers say detecting AI-generated work is usually straightforward. Sudberry's approach is direct: show the student what happened, explain why it's problematic, then teach them how to use the tool correctly.
Allen suggested that if students can submit an AI-generated response without thinking and receive credit, the assignment itself may need revision. "Maybe we need to rethink big ideas about assessments and how we're evaluating what students do," she said.
Policy Development Underway
FCPS is developing a district-wide AI policy through a multidisciplinary team that includes the school board, staff, parents, and community members. Michelle Reid, FCPS superintendent, said the feedback has been consistent: parents and staff want a measured approach that protects privacy and safety.
"We can't look the other way at this point, because this is, in fact, a technology that's impacting the entire planet," Reid said. "We want to make sure that we take a measured approach to this new technology, because we know that we want to shape its use and not be shaped by it."
For educators looking to build skills with these tools, resources like the AI for Teachers Learning Path provide structured guidance on classroom implementation. Teachers already using ChatGPT can deepen their expertise through ChatGPT Courses designed for educational settings.
Your membership also unlocks:
