Remove Generative AI from Wake County Student Devices
The Issue
To: Wake County Board of Education
The use of AI in Wake County Public Schools has made headlines recently as you consider implementing a policy to govern its use in the district. While a policy is a critical and overdue step towards responsible AI use, the current proposed policy does not go far enough and will not result in safer use of this incredibly powerful technology. Until you pass a specific policy with age-appropriate, evidence-based guidelines for student AI use, we urge you to remove generative AI tools from all student-issued devices to prevent further harm.
WCPS has fully embraced generative AI for students ages 13+ with no existing AI policy or established best practices for teachers and staff. This irresponsible approach to a rapidly changing technology not only undermines students' developing critical thinking abilities, but exposes them to potential privacy violations and inappropriate content.
AI use in schools has a negative impact on students’ cognitive skills, critical thinking, and creativity. It undermines student/teacher relationships, which should be at the center of how students learn. Not only does AI undermine student relationships and developing cognitive skills, but there is increasing evidence that AI use in educational contexts rewires the vulnerable K-12 student brain in ways that make deep, sustained learning much more challenging.
Studies have shown that as of now, the risks of AI use outweigh the potential benefits to students. Only when AI is used intentionally, deliberately, and in the context of a larger human-centered education strategy does it even have the chance to add value to the student's learning experience. WCPS is not taking this approach, instead choosing to permit widespread, unregulated AI use for students and allowing individual teachers and schools to set their own guidelines, if they have any at all.
As the largest school district in North Carolina and home to incredible centers of innovation and technology development, Wake County has the potential to be a leader in the use of AI in education in North Carolina and nationwide. Instead, we are simply bystanders allowing big tech companies to drive our students' education down a path that endangers their futures. If implemented in schools at all, AI must be used responsibly and intentionally, or our students will continue to suffer the consequences. We urge you to return to the drawing board to develop a new policy, and until then, remove generative AI tools from all student-issued devices to prevent further harm.
Signed:
Community Advocates for Responsible EdTech (CARE)
1
The Issue
To: Wake County Board of Education
The use of AI in Wake County Public Schools has made headlines recently as you consider implementing a policy to govern its use in the district. While a policy is a critical and overdue step towards responsible AI use, the current proposed policy does not go far enough and will not result in safer use of this incredibly powerful technology. Until you pass a specific policy with age-appropriate, evidence-based guidelines for student AI use, we urge you to remove generative AI tools from all student-issued devices to prevent further harm.
WCPS has fully embraced generative AI for students ages 13+ with no existing AI policy or established best practices for teachers and staff. This irresponsible approach to a rapidly changing technology not only undermines students' developing critical thinking abilities, but exposes them to potential privacy violations and inappropriate content.
AI use in schools has a negative impact on students’ cognitive skills, critical thinking, and creativity. It undermines student/teacher relationships, which should be at the center of how students learn. Not only does AI undermine student relationships and developing cognitive skills, but there is increasing evidence that AI use in educational contexts rewires the vulnerable K-12 student brain in ways that make deep, sustained learning much more challenging.
Studies have shown that as of now, the risks of AI use outweigh the potential benefits to students. Only when AI is used intentionally, deliberately, and in the context of a larger human-centered education strategy does it even have the chance to add value to the student's learning experience. WCPS is not taking this approach, instead choosing to permit widespread, unregulated AI use for students and allowing individual teachers and schools to set their own guidelines, if they have any at all.
As the largest school district in North Carolina and home to incredible centers of innovation and technology development, Wake County has the potential to be a leader in the use of AI in education in North Carolina and nationwide. Instead, we are simply bystanders allowing big tech companies to drive our students' education down a path that endangers their futures. If implemented in schools at all, AI must be used responsibly and intentionally, or our students will continue to suffer the consequences. We urge you to return to the drawing board to develop a new policy, and until then, remove generative AI tools from all student-issued devices to prevent further harm.
Signed:
Community Advocates for Responsible EdTech (CARE)
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Petition created on July 2, 2026