5 On Your Side: School districts vary on ChatGPT, from embracing it to suspension

It can write essays, explain complex equations and craft seemingly well-thought-out answers in seconds. We're talking about AI tools like ChatGPT.

After the technology was released in fall 2022, some school districts took swift action by banning the use of AI. Nearly a year later, some districts have changed their approach.

As part of WRAL's Back to School coverage, WRAL 5 On Your Side asked every school district in the viewing area about their policies regarding AI use in the classroom. The team found that policies from district to district vary greatly, with some embracing the technology and others banning it from school servers.

{
    "name": "footable",
    "attrs": {
        "id": "21014204",
        "identifier": "AI policies by school district",
        "header": "AI POLICIES BY SCHOOL DISTRICT",
        "description": "WRAL is awaiting a response from Chatham, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Halifax, Johnston, Nash, Northampton and Sampson counties"
    },
    "children": null
}

If you had asked Andy Jenks, the chief communications officer for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, how the district felt about ChatGPT in schools a year ago, he would have told you this, "We can't have this on our network; we've got to block it in school," Jenks said.

Now his answer is very different.

"In the fall of 2023, the present day, it's not going to be blocked for our high school students," Jenks said. "This represents a change in thinking from an educational standpoint. We are not going to shove these things aside and pretend they don't exist but rather think about how we acknowledge them and teach our students how to use them responsibly and effectively because ultimately that's what we believe our role in society is."

Similarly, Wake County Schools told WRAL 5 On Your Side that the technology is available to high school and middle school students.

A Granville County Schools spokesperson told WRAL 5 On Your Side that "AI is a tool we should be teaching our students to understand and use in constructive ways." However, the district is still working on crafting specific policies involving AI.

Many other districts also told WRAL News they are still working on their approach.

On the other hand, Wilson and Sampson County Schools have blocked ChatGPT from their networks, with Sampson writing that a violation could be "subject to up to 10 days of out-of-school suspension." Because ChatGTP can offer infinite answers on topics within seconds, determining if a student is using it can be difficult.

"We're finding they're giving a lot of false positives," explained Mary Walton, the director of instructional design and e-learning support at Wake Tech.

To illustrate this, WRAL 5 On Your Side copied part of the Declaration of Independence on three free AI detection websites; each site believed part of the text was generated by AI.

Walton believes student use of AI is unavoidable.

"This is not a technology that is going to go away; Microsoft is investing billions of dollars into it," Walton said. "If we don't train students on appropriate use and how to embrace the technology for what it can provide, then I think we are putting them at a great disadvantage from a workforce perspective."

Walton said educators can deter plagiarism by requiring students to submit verbal reports or videos rather than written answers and by showing students how to properly source ChatGPT. She also recommends that students under 14 avoid ChatGPT without adult supervision.

None of the districts WRAL 5 On Your Side spoke to allow elementary students to use ChatGPT.