Our Position

We will not betray our values for a new technology.
We insist on technology that aligns with our values.

The challenges facing our schools are pressing, and they demand effective, time-tested solutions. NY state’s new class-size law is one such solution. The smartphone ban is another. Administrators should also give teachers more support and latitude to create stimulating, developmentally appropriate lessons. Struggling families need resources so that their children can focus on learning. And schools must find sustainable ways to challenge and invigorate young minds.

Instead of proven solutions, however, some school leaders are reaching for a high-tech silver bullet, one that would only create bigger problems. District 14 leaders are considering an expansion of AI in our schools, claiming that this technology will, among other things, reduce redundancy and tailor instruction for individual students. These are not goals for which we should sacrifice our humanity, and this is not a sensible use of district funds, especially when some of our schools can’t even afford functioning bathrooms.

Meanwhile, as the tech industry spends trillions of dollars on its vision of AI utopia, the world is watching a more dystopian reality unfold. Inside “AI-enabled” classrooms, students are experiencing isolation, cognitive atrophy, and loss of focus. Outside classrooms, LLMs are endorsing suicide, inducing psychosis, and empowering bullies. This is happening because tech companies have prioritized their own growth targets (active users, subscription revenue, time spent on app) over safety and efficacy. To a commercial ed-tech developer, our schools are primarily a lucrative market, our children just numbers on an earnings report.

Every time our school leaders mistake industry speculation for fact, every time they choose novelty over proven solutions, every time they elevate personalization and efficiency above community and freedom, they undermine the mission of public education. The history of K-12 shows that whenever schools try to automate learning, teachers and students always lose.

What we need today are principled leaders who understand that learning is a social process, a positive-sum project, with humanity at its core. To anyone who promotes “AI literacy” or “responsible AI use,” we say: Is there any responsible way to use a technology that’s fundamentally unaccountable, prone to racial & gender bias, emotionally manipulative, environmentally disastrous, and frequently wrong?

AI has no place in our schools — not until the ed-tech industry proves it’s capable of delivering products without these fatal flaws.