Sheridan County SD‑3 board adopts AI policy and formal public‑comment sign‑in form
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Summary
The Sheridan County School District #3 board approved a first reading of an artificial‑intelligence policy and adopted a public‑comment sign‑in exhibit, directing staff to make the sign‑in available virtually and discussing how to balance open comment with follow‑up.
The Sheridan County School District #3 Board of Trustees on April 14 approved a first reading of Policy 6151 governing artificial intelligence use in district classrooms and adopted Exhibit 8352e, a public‑comment sign‑in form, on its first and final reading.
Board members said the AI policy and the new public‑comment form respond to recent questions from parents about classroom use of generative tools and to the district’s desire to improve follow‑up when members of the public raise issues.
Board chair or a board member moved the first‑reading approval of Policy 6151 and the board adopted it by voice vote; later the board adopted Exhibit 8352e on a separate voice vote. Board members asked administration to make the public‑comment sign‑in available as a digital form linked from the board meeting notice so remote participants can sign and receive follow‑up.
The policy discussion followed public comment that included a parent who said district use of AI tools has been “like a glorified autocorrect editing tool” that helped their children revise faster while teachers monitored for plagiarism. The parent asked the board to continue to monitor use and said, “I think it was you that mentioned…are they teaching them the correct ways early on and then introducing the AI later, which I feel as though they — that looks like to be the case.” That comment was recorded during the public‑comment period.
Board members thanked staff for drafting the policy. One board member specifically thanked “Mr. Growers” for preparing the draft and noted that editing and oversight remain important even when staff use AI to help prepare documents. Trustees debated whether the public‑comment form should require speakers to limit remarks to items on the agenda; the board removed language that would require comments to be tied only to the agenda and instead asked that comments be about matters “within the board’s purview.”
Trustees directed administration to develop logistics for virtual comment — including whether the sign‑in should be a standing annual acknowledgement or completed for each meeting — and to provide a digital option (for example a Google Form) so remote speakers can submit the information and a checkbox can serve as a signature. The board said the form should include an optional “topic” field to help staff route follow‑up and to make postmeeting responses easier.
No fiscal threshold or legal citation was introduced during the votes beyond the internal policy numbers; the board’s votes were recorded by voice with “all in favor” and “aye” calls. The district will publish the adopted exhibit and the policy draft online per standard board practice.
The AI policy is listed on the district’s policy docket as Policy 6151; the public‑comment form was adopted as Exhibit 8352e. The board’s action is a first reading for the policy (administration characterized it as a draft ready for board consideration) and a first‑and‑final reading for the exhibit.
