Student concerns and recommendations around AI.
New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) students have reported “confusion” about how to use artificial intelligence in a school setting — especially since the district provides individual educators with discretion regarding that cutting-edge tool’s adoption.
So reported Board of Education student representative and Career High School student Abdellah Aly on Monday night during a presentation at the school board’s latest meeting at King/Robinson School.
Aly’s presentation compiled student reports provided to him thanks to a student building climate liaison initiative first introduced by former school board student rep John Carlos Serana Musser, who graduated from Wilbur Cross in 2025.
His presentation also came nearly a year after NHPS first adopted a districtwide artificial intelligence (AI) policy that provides teachers with a fair amount of latitude as to how AI can be used in their classrooms.
“One teacher can say you can’t use it at all,” Aly said. “Some of the teachers say you can use it, but limit it. Basically, students are confused on whether to rely on a teacher [or] rely on a principal when it comes to it.”
Aly provided the board with feedback from students on Monday on a variety of topics, including AI. Other topics covered by Aly’s report included concerns about needing more school counselors to support students’ mental health needs, more tutors to alleviate heavy “assignment pressure,” faster responses to maintenance requests like overly hot classrooms, more cultural celebrations throughout all schools, more internship opportunities and exposure to non-traditional careers, and more equitable access to resources and field trips.
When discussing students concerns’ and recommendations regarding the district’s AI policy, Aly said, “Students shared that expectations around AI are often unclear and differ significantly depending on the classroom and teacher.”
Last July, NHPS Asst. Supt. Keisha Redd-Hannans presented to the school board a draft policy that laid out that AI could be used by students and staff equitably, ethically, and with academic integrity. The policy leaves usage up to the discretion of each educator by stating that educators should “clearly communicate whether AI use is allowed for an assignment, and specify acceptable tools and purposes. Scaffold AI use to align with instructional goals and student learning outcomes.” The school board then adopted an AI policy in August 2025. Click here to view the full AI policy as presented last July.
On Monday, Aly said that AI can be valuable for studying, brainstorming, and academic support — especially when teachers are not available to offer additional support. That said, it can be hard to stay on top of which teachers allow what level of AI use in which classrooms.
He asked the district to offer guidance for how to use the tool responsibly, possibly through an annual presentation to each school’s student body on AI ethics. He also called for the district to offer clear and consistent expectations for use that would apply across all schools rather than teacher-by-teacher.
In response to Aly’s Monday presentation, Board of Education member Abie Benitez suggested Aly meet with district leads like Typhanie Jackson, Keisha Redd-Hannans, and Dina Natalino to learn more about how to make students aware of all of the opportunities afforded by NHPS. She also pointed out that “there is a mental health support problem in Connecticut, not just in our schools, but everywhere.” She pushed students to continue advocating for such services.
Board of Education President OrLando Yarborough suggested looking into the possibility of students self-organizing to offer tutoring opportunities for their peers.
Watch the board meeting including Aly’s full presentation below.