Washington DC’s OSSE releases an AI model policy for school staff use
DC’s OSSE released an AI model policy for school staff on 1 September 2026, barring AI from IEP eligibility, discipline decisions and teacher evaluations.
Photo by Yan Krukau on Pexels
The District of Columbia’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) released an AI model policy for staff use on 1 September 2026, giving local education agencies (LEAs) across the city guidance on how school and central-office staff may use artificial intelligence during the 2026-27 school year. The policy is OSSE’s first staff-facing AI guidance and sets out a three-tier “stoplight” framework that bars AI from high-stakes decisions such as student discipline, teacher evaluations and eligibility determinations for individualized education programs (IEPs).
Why OSSE issued the policy now
OSSE built the model policy after a February 2026 survey of LEA leaders found that just 45% of LEAs in the District had established their own staff AI policy. LEAs told OSSE that a model policy from the agency would be the most useful support it could offer. OSSE says it reviewed AI policies from across the country and consulted DC school leaders before publishing this initial version, which it will review and update as the technology and evidence evolve.
“Emerging technologies like AI are changing rapidly, and our job is to make sure schools have clear, practical guardrails as they decide what to use, when to use it, and how to use it responsibly,” State Superintendent of Education Dr. Antoinette S. Mitchell said in the release. Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn added that the policy “gives school leaders and teachers a straightforward way to determine when AI can add value and when it should be off-limits.”
How the stoplight framework works
The model policy sorts staff AI use into three categories rather than issuing a single blanket rule.
| Tier | What it covers | Example uses |
|---|---|---|
| Red – prohibited | High-stakes decisions demanding human judgment | Physical surveillance of students and staff, student discipline decisions, teacher performance evaluations, IEP or Section 504 eligibility determinations |
| Yellow – limited use with safeguards | Activity that needs adult oversight | Monitoring digital activity on LEA-issued devices, drafting IEP language, reviewing and grading student work, supplemental coaching for educators |
| Green – permitted with awareness | Lower-risk support tasks with a human in the loop | Drafting lesson plans, customizing student-facing materials, developing tutoring plans, analyzing data sets, preparing school communications, logistical operations |
Source: OSSE, “OSSE Releases AI Model Policy to Guide Responsible Staff Use in Schools,” 1 September 2026.
Staff are directed to use only approved enterprise tools, and any activity touching personally identifiable student information must comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the District’s Protecting Students Digital Privacy Act of 2016.
What the policy does not cover
OSSE is explicit that the model policy addresses staff use only; it does not set guidance for student use of AI or for how LEAs should procure AI tools. The agency recommends LEAs assess their needs before adopting tools and confirm that vendors meet privacy and cybersecurity standards. Staff are expected to complete training before using AI, show AI-literacy proficiency, renew that training annually, and keep human oversight and accountability over all AI-assisted outputs. OSSE says two new professional-development courses, “AI Literacy for Educators” and “Instructional Decision-Making and AI Dilemmas,” will be added to its Learning Management System in the coming weeks.
LEAs can adapt the model policy to their own context rather than adopt it unchanged; OSSE describes it as guidance only, not legal advice or a binding mandate. The agency is a member of the Capital AI Education Collective, a citywide group of government, nonprofit, education and business partners working on AI readiness, and lists responsible AI use as a cross-cutting priority in its 2026-2030 strategic plan.
DC’s approach differs from the outright restrictions some districts have adopted. NYC to ban student AI tools from 2-K to eighth grade covers New York City’s decision, announced the day before OSSE’s release, to bar generative AI from student use through eighth grade district-wide. Maryland schools face fall 2026 deadline for AI policy and Illinois issues 400-page AI guidance for schools show two other jurisdictions setting mandatory or highly detailed frameworks, in contrast with OSSE’s optional model policy aimed only at staff.
Background
OSSE previously issued a Model School Personal Device Policy to help DC’s roughly 60 LEAs write legally compliant rules on personal devices in schools, and the AI Model Policy for Staff Use follows the same template of a customizable, non-binding framework. It arrives roughly two months after the US Department of Education issued its own education technology guidance directing states and districts to evaluate classroom software on evidence of learning gains. OSSE’s policy is narrower in scope, focusing specifically on how DC school and central-office staff – not students – may use AI, and it is the first document of its kind the agency has released. OSSE says it will keep updating the policy as AI technology and the evidence around its use in schools continue to change.
Sources: Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE); Hoodline
Featured image: photo by Yan Krukau on Pexels (free Pexels license).
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I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.
