Fall 2026      Volume 54, Number 4

The Gap Between AI Policy and AI Practice in Schools
By Gleb Tsipursky

Document: Article  

Introductory Paragraph:   A school district can approve a thoughtful artificial intelligence policy on Monday and still have dozens of conflicting AI policies operating by Friday. One teacher prohibits generative AI entirely. Another permits it for brainstorming but not drafting. A third uses it to revise reading passages, create vocabulary practice, or generate discussion questions, yet hesitates to tell colleagues because the boundaries remain unclear. Students move between classrooms with different rules, while families struggle to understand what responsible use actually means.
That inconsistency creates the central challenge of AI policy in schools. Writing rules represents one step. Schools must then turn those rules into repeatable classroom behavior that teachers can apply without adding an unreasonable burden to already crowded days.

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.33600/IRCJ.54.4.2026.15

Page Numbers:   15-20