CCSD discusses AI rollout in classrooms as parents and students raise concerns
CCSD discusses AI rollout in classrooms as parents and students raise concerns
Publish Date: 2026-05-11 18:03:00
Source Domain: abcnews4.com
CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — Charleston County School District leaders are continuing discussions about how artificial intelligence could be used in classrooms — with some changes potentially starting as soon as next school year.
During Monday night’s Committee of the Whole meeting, district leaders presented an update on AI integration and screen time, outlining plans for staff training, parent engagement, tool audits and the development of what officials called “guardrails” for student use.
The goal is to create a “balanced approach” to AI and screen time, the district said, while preparing students for a world where the technology is becoming increasingly common. According to the district’s timeline, CCSD plans to continue stakeholder feedback and planning through the summer before moving into broader implementation and monitoring during the 2026-27 school year.
The presentation also acknowledged concerns from both staff and students. District documents said teachers expressed concerns about “unsupervised student use” of AI and emphasized they do not want their expertise replaced by technology. Some parents and students say those concerns are already showing up in classrooms.
“AI has recently been integrating in classrooms a lot more through these past two years,” CCSD student Holland Hankey said.
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Some programs are already being used to grade assignments and provide feedback to students, Hankey said. “I’ll have a thing called Class Companion where I’ll type in an essay and an AI would grade it and give it back to me.”
Her mother, Jennifer Hankey, said she worries students are being introduced to the technology before they have the foundational skills to use it responsibly.
“My concern is we’re looking at kids five to 17 years old, and we’re somehow asking them to use it to make them smarter when they don’t have the base of what they need to build…
