Start a conversation, not an accusation.
GUEST COLUMN | by Randy Kolset and Mike Lawrence
XIAYAMOON
Educators have an expectation from all students that they will be ethical in their academic coursework. Most schools and districts have a stated policy about academic integrity. It’s a long-standing tradition and one that is foundational to student-teacher relationships. It makes one wonder why they often violate this themselves when it comes to AI use.
‘If we’re preparing students for an AI-powered world, we must model the transparency we ask of them.’
As AI tools become increasingly embedded in K–12 classrooms, a quiet contradiction has emerged: students are expected to disclose their use of AI, while teachers often use it without acknowledgement. This asymmetry challenges the core principles of fairness, academic integrity, and digital citizenship. If we’re preparing students for an AI-powered world, we must model the transparency we ask of them.
Modeling Integrity in the Age of AI
Laguna Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) has taken a bold step forward with its “AI: Trust You” extension, recognizing that technology integration must be rooted in mutual trust. The extension allows teachers to frame when and how AI may be used with a custom-built ‘Trust Statement’ unique to each assignment, followed by students creating an honor-based statement clarifying how and the degree to which AI was used in their response. Rather than framing AI as a threat, LBUSD reframes it as an opportunity—to build character, model ethical use, and empower learners.
This exchange aligns seamlessly with Dr. Sabba Quidwai’s Designing Schools framework, which places trust, voice, and agency at the center of educational transformation. If we want students to be courageous, curious problem-solvers in the age of AI, we must invite them into the conversation—not police them from the sidelines. In other words, start a conversation, not an accusation.
‘If we want students to be courageous, curious problem-solvers in the age of AI, we must invite them into the conversation—not police them from the sidelines.’
Building Trust Through Transparency
In alignment with this approach, and in contrast to reactive bans or inconsistent enforcement, Orange Unified School District (OrangeUSD) has created AI guidelines that empower educators while holding them accountable. Their approach encourages the intentional use of AI as a teaching and learning tool, while trusting teachers to make professional decisions about disclosure and implementation. This balance between freedom and responsibility fosters transparency without stifling innovation.
Research from 2023–2025 supports this shift. Surveys show that students increasingly perceive a double standard: they are required to cite AI, while teachers often aren’t. This erodes trust and fosters resentment. By contrast, teachers who openly share how they use AI—whether to design a lesson, provide feedback, or generate ideas—actually strengthen credibility and model responsible tech use.
‘…teachers who openly share how they use AI—whether to design a lesson, provide feedback, or generate ideas—actually strengthen credibility and model responsible tech use.’
Those who believe that the best approach is to shift back to pen and paper assignments or completely lock down AI are taking an approach destined to reinforce a lack of trust and fail to prepare students for a future in which ubiquitous AI is vastly more powerful than that which we encounter today. In fact, as ISTE CEO Richard Culatta shared, recent research out of Stanford University (2024, Cheating in the age of generative AI, Lee, Pope, Miles, Zarate) demonstrates that cheating was prevalent (about 70%) before generative AI and didn’t significantly change after its launch.
Is cheating a problem? Yes!
Does AI cause cheating? Not likely.
When teachers use AI appropriately to craft lessons, presentations and provide speedy feedback, and don’t share how they are using it, they miss an opportunity to model ethical AI use for their students.
‘When teachers use AI appropriately to craft lessons, presentations and provide speedy feedback, and don’t share how they are using it, they miss an opportunity to model ethical AI use for their students.’
In the article “How can we upskill Gen Z as fast as we train AI?” by Merriman & Sanz Sáiz in 2024 an international survey stated that 55% of our Gen Z population is learning how to use AI through social media. Several surveys and interviews with students at OrangeUSD showed that students don’t want to lose their ability to think, be accused of cheating, and not have the skills for the future through the use of AI. More than likely they are learning how to leverage AI as a short cut tool and not its true productive nature.
If teachers engage in conversations around how they use AI to be more productive it changes how students understand how to use the LLM systems to be successful. Teachers can demonstrate how they interact, reframe their prompts and leverage their own critical thinking to create something better, faster and more effective by collaborating with AI as a thought partner.
From Policing to Partnership
ABC Unified (ABCUSD) has taken this approach a step further with their AI Trust and Transparency System. In addition to implementing Laguna Beach’s AI Trust You extension, district leaders have collaborated with students, administrators and teachers to develop a set of badges for use by all groups. They offer another layer of visibility into how HI (Human Intelligence) and AI was used in a given project, presentation, media or paper.
Everyone, from the superintendent to students is asked to share a visual representation of their use of AI in presentations, lessons, handouts and assignments. The badges display a ‘battery-like’ image and corresponding number representing the maximum percentage of AI in the completed work. Each is given a descriptor that matches that level (Assist, Integrate, etc.). All of their work is detailed at abcusd.us/aitt.
They offer five levels of HI + AI usage, each with a corresponding badge:
ABC UNIFIED
The district built on the concept of Jon Spike, an educator in Wisconsin, who first developed a set of badges for this purpose. In his spirit of sharing, ABCUSD has made generic and customizable versions of these badges available so that others can use them either with their own organizational logo, or without. All three styles of badges are available via creative commons sharealike at abcusd.us/aibadges.
As AI becomes a permanent part of our educational landscape, we must ask: Are we building a culture of secrecy or a culture of trust?
Districts like Laguna Beach, ABC and Orange USD utilizing the OECD AI Literacy Framework ailiteracyframework.org are showing us that trustworthy AI use isn’t just about tools—it’s about people.
By aligning policy with transparency and compassion, we create classrooms where both teachers and students grow as ethical digital citizens—together.
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Randy Kolset is an experienced Education Administrator with a demonstrated history of working in primary and secondary education. Skilled in Educational Consulting, Leadership, Educational Technology, Curriculum Development, STEM Integration, and Project Management. As a developer of Artificial Intelligence policies for Education and Computer Science schools at the elementary level, Randy is a strong education professional with a Masters of Science focused in Educational Technology, dedicated to fostering ethical AI use and promoting a culture of trust in educational settings. Connect with Randy via LinkedIn.
Mike Lawrence is an award-winning educator and global EdTech leader, currently Director of Information & Technology for ABC Unified School District. Former CEO of CUE and EdTech Digest Top 100 Influencer in EdTech (2023–24), he has advanced digital learning worldwide through leadership with ISTE, UNESCO, PowerSchool, Jamf, and California’s Student Media Festival. Connect with Mike on LinkedIn.
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