Nevada Department of Education Holds Town Hall Meetings about Artificial Intelligence

The Nevada Department of Education announced this week that they are holding a series of town hall meetings statewide to gather feedback about the use of artificial intelligence in educational settings.

A series of invitation-only town hall meetings are being held in person and virtually to gather feedback from school administrators, educators, education support personnel, students, families, community members and industry experts.

Meetings began March 26 in Clark County to seek input on ethical considerations related to the use of artificial intelligence (A.I.) in preschool through 12th grade education.

Sessions will also be held this month in Humboldt County, Carson City, and Washoe County.

A statewide virtual town hall meeting will be held in early May.

“Students of today need a grasp of artificial intelligence,” Ebert said. “This set of policies will provide the guardrails that guide how AI is treated within schools across our state.”

The Department formed a task force in January called the Nevada A.I. Alliance, with the objectives of facilitating focus group feedback sessions, developing an ethics statement, guidance and resources for preK-12 educators, and an international A.I. in education conference.

The first phase of the project, which includes town hall meetings and developing an A.I. ethics statement, is slated for completion by late June.

The Nevada A.I. Alliance’s work is supported by a $100,000 grant from the Nevada Community Foundation.

Gian Brosco, president of Nevada Community Foundation said, “On behalf of our anonymous donor, Nevada Community Foundation is pleased to support the Department of Education’s initiative to thoughtfully explore the introduction of AI into Nevada classrooms.” 

“A.I. is clearly a powerful tool for learning, but we acknowledge it must be used ethically and responsibly to ensure its use in the classroom is additive,” Brosco said. “We appreciate our partnership with the Department of Education and its thoughtful approach to ensuring students in the Silver State can take advantage of this transformative learning tool guided by policies designed to safeguard academic integrity while allowing students to benefit from this exciting new tool to advance their education and better position themselves for future employment.”

Nevada Community Foundation is today one of the country’s fastest-growing community foundations with more than $300 million in managed funds.

The nonprofit serves as a fiscal sponsor and philanthropic advisor to Southern Nevada’s leading families and philanthropists.

As soon as we hear back from the DOE on why the town halls are invite-only, we will update this story. We will also make sure to notify the Rural Nevada community when we know the date for the virtual town hall in May.