CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — Charleston County School District leaders are continuing discussions about how artificial intelligence could be used in classrooms — with some changes potentially starting as soon as next school year.
During Monday night’s Committee of the Whole meeting, district leaders presented an update on AI integration and screen time, outlining plans for staff training, parent engagement, tool audits and the development of what officials called “guardrails” for student use.
The goal is to create a “balanced approach” to AI and screen time, the district said, while preparing students for a world where the technology is becoming increasingly common. According to the district’s timeline, CCSD plans to continue stakeholder feedback and planning through the summer before moving into broader implementation and monitoring during the 2026-27 school year.
The students themselves are viewed as key stakeholders in this process, and according to CCSD officials, some students have voiced displeasure with AI in the classroom, saying they don't want AI to replace they way they think.
The presentation also acknowledged concerns from both staff and students. District documents said teachers expressed concerns about “unsupervised student use” of AI and emphasized they do not want their expertise replaced by technology. Some parents and students say those concerns are already showing up in classrooms.
“AI has recently been integrating in classrooms a lot more through these past two years,” CCSD student Holland Hankey said.
CCSD officials emphasized in the meeting that they are ensuring proper guardrails are in place before leaning too heavily into AI in the classroom. AI audit tools that run frequent scans to determine what students have used certain types of AI software are already being utilized. The purpose, officials said, to help them better learn what tools and features need to be blocked, and what can be allowed through the network.
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Some programs are already being used to grade assignments and provide feedback to students, Hankey said. “I’ll have a thing called Class Companion where I’ll type in an essay and an AI would grade it and give it back to me."
Her mother, Jennifer Hankey, said she worries students are being introduced to the technology before they have the foundational skills to use it responsibly.
“My concern is we’re looking at kids five to 17 years old, and we’re somehow asking them to use it to make them smarter when they don’t have the base of what they need to build off of,” she said.
Another CCSD parent, Therese Grittner, said she believes AI could eventually help students, but said districts need to move carefully.
“Learn more. Absolutely. And experiment with putting it into your day-to-day,” Grittner said. “Everybody who wants to implement it for children should be wildly proficient at what they want to implement themselves.”
District leaders also discussed screen time during Monday’s presentation, saying they want to ensure students are benefiting academically and socially from device use during the school day. The district defines screen time broadly, including assessments, instructional apps, curriculum resources and assignments completed on district-issued devices.
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For some families, the concern goes beyond academics.
“You should not be talking to an AI about your problems because that completely cuts off part of human connection,” Holland Hankey said.
Jennifer Hankey said she worries increased reliance on AI could impact students’ social development and classroom interaction.
“These kids need the human connection of the teacher,” she said. “There’s so much more to being a teacher than to just learn data.”
District leaders said they plan to continue gathering feedback from parents, students and staff as the rollout process moves forward.