HVRHS teachers must disclose when they use artificial intelligence to create assignments or assess student work under an updated policy for the 2026–27 school year.
The policy also requires the school to provide instruction in AI, while leaving individual teachers responsible for explaining when students may use it in their classrooms.
The policy is a shift from prior years, when the school had no official, written policy regarding AI on the books and use of the technology by students was generally considered cheating.
Principal Ian Strever outlined the policy at the start of the school year. It appears in the updated student handbook, available on the HVRHS website.
Under the “Artificial Intelligence” section, the policy states that “the school is required to include instruction in AI.” Furthermore, it reads that the use of AI “may vary from extensive use in one course and no use of it in another.”
It is now up to individual teachers to determine when students are permitted– or not permitted– to use AI in their classroom.
The AI policy also establishes expectations for staff.
In the policy, it is expected that teachers inform students when they have used AI to generate or alter assignments that are given to students.
“In the interest of transparency, all HVRHS teachers must disclose to their students when they are using AI to create assignments and to assess student work.”
Policy rationale
Strever elaborated on why he believes it’s important to have a clear understanding, for students as well as faculty, of the pros and cons of using AI.
“You’re in a sociology class, for instance, but you have a huge database of statistics that you want to go through,” Strever said. “AI is a fantastic tool for processing some of that statistical data that’s not really the focus of the course. So I think in those kinds of situations, you need to have the ability and the autonomy to use that as a tool.”
Strever pointed to certain courses and areas where any use of AI, dependent on the specific course instructor, is prohibited.
Strever explained the parallel policy at Housatonic, with one side of the policy completely restricting the use of artificial intelligence. “The act of writing” Strever explained,“it’s a reflection of the care with which you have looked at your subject and the understanding of it. And it’s really difficult or impossible to assign any part of that to AI.”
Teachers implement their own policies
This year, students participating in ECE Human Rights, Perspectives on Democracy, U.S. History, Psychology, and Sociology were all given an agreement to sign by their teacher, John Lizzi. The contract explicitly outlines that any use of AI, unless told otherwise, is forbidden. Students also acknowledged on the form that if caught, any pleading of ignorance would not be accepted as an excuse.
The policy was written by Lizzi, as well as English department chair Damon Osora. Both humanities teachers, Lizzi expressed concern over how AI impacted student learning, and specifically the writing process.
“We felt that it was within our power and the right thing to do to really take a firm stance about its use,” said Lizzi, “and so we put forward a policy in our classes that there is to be no use of AI.”
Lizzi acknowledged that appropriate AI use varies by subject, saying that “there is a use for AI in certain fields, stem fields, for example. But I think it would be reasonable to say that every class and teacher should very specifically outline how AI is to be used and how it’s not to be used.”
The HVRHS Student Handbook corroborates both Lizzi’s and Strever’s accounts, with it written that the use of AI will “vary from course to course,” it reads, adding that “this may vary from extensive use in one course and no use of it in another.”
School staff said additional guidelines may be needed as AI technology evolves.
Student perspectives
Students have mixed feelings about the new AI policy, with most students who were interviewed saying AI should not be used in school whatsoever, due to a negative impact on reasoning and writing abilities.
Julliete Trabucco, a junior in both ECE U.S. History and AP Literature, is one of many students generally opposed to the use of AI. “Other students are putting in the work to complete the assignment,” Trabucco said. “If you’re just using AI, it’s like taking the shortcut.”
Students were asked if there was any benefit to using AI, either in school or out of it, and their responses were primarily against AI use in general. Most students interviewed said AI use in schools is both unnecessary and hinders the learning process, and that there are no acceptable ways to use AI in a school setting.
Skylar Brown, a freshman, has specific concerns about generative AI. Generative AI is a blanket term for tools that create images or videos from user prompts. Brown said she’s concerned about its impact on the environment and its effect on users.
Students like Brown expressed environmental concerns, due to the mass amounts of water that AI needs in order to cool data centers. In 2023, about 17.4 billion gallons of water were used, or about 268 million bathtubs, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
“It’s not good for the environment,” Brown said. “And when people are relying on it a lot, it becomes less of, like, a tool that’s supposed to be helpful.”
While most students at HVRHS seem to be against using AI in general, there are some who have continued to use AI.
Henry Skuza, a Junior in Dr. Lizzi’s US History class said some students who had signed the AI agreement at the beginning of the year had been caught for using the technology on assignments.
Skuza said he believes the students’ punishment should be tied to their honesty after being caught.
“If you lie about it, then I think it should be more harsh,” Skuza said. “But if you do get caught and you’re like, ‘yeah, I did it,’ then you just have to rewrite it in your own words.”
Some students see the benefits of AI in the classroom, but solely for research purposes rather than generating ideas. Some students use platforms like Gemini Notebook as study tools or for research.
Eliana Lang said AI could be useful for some studying tasks.
“Maybe creating a study guide or something or explaining something,” Lang said. “But not to do actual work.”
