5121.3R-Administrative Regulations on Academic Integrity and Acceptable Use of Artificial Intelligence

The Newtown Public Schools are dedicated to nurturing an academic community founded on integrity, honesty, and respect. As an academic community, the District will not tolerate academic dishonesty. Any activity of this nature is in opposition to the goals of the District as a place of learning and is contrary to the values of the schools of the District and the community. Dishonesty is not merely a private matter between the teacher and student but is a concern to the entire school community.

Cheating, defined as copying another student’s work and claiming it as your own and plagiarism, defined as the use of another person’s original ideas or writing without giving credit to the true author, are both prohibited practices. Materials taken from electronic sources are covered by these Regulations. 

A student who engages in any form of academic dishonesty will be subject to the loss of credit for the work in question, as well as other disciplinary measures. “Due process” must be provided to students accused of cheating. 

Each school level (Elementary, Middle, High) will develop guidelines that address violations and procedures. Guidelines will be published in all student/parent handbooks and on the District/school website. 

The Newtown Public Schools aim to empower students to responsibly utilize AI to deepen their learning, all while upholding academic integrity and strengthening critical thinking skills. The following guidelines outline the appropriate and ethical student use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools: 

A. Guidelines for Student Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools 

AI tools can be powerful resources for learning and creativity when used responsibly. These guidelines outline the expectations for their use in all academic work in the Newton Public Schools. 

1. Adherence to Guidelines & Teacher Instructions: Students are expected to always follow this regulation, school rules and specific teacher instructions regarding AI use for each assignment. If AI is prohibited, students should not use it.

2. Safety & Privacy: Students are expected to use AI tools responsibly. Students should never share personal identifying information (PII) of themselves or others, and should be mindful that data input into AI models may not be private. 

3. Learning Enhancement & Originality: Students are expected to be the primary thinkers and creators; AI is an assistant. Students should never present AI-generated content as their own unaided work. All submissions must reflect their understanding and effort. AI is a tool to support and deepen students' learning, not to bypass thinking or avoid required work. 

4. Transparency & Disclosure: Students must always disclose when and how they have used AI in academic work. Teachers will provide specific disclosure requirements for each assignment.

5. Attribution: Students must properly cite and attribute any content, ideas, or significant influence from AI. 

6. Ethical Considerations: Students should develop a fundamental understanding of AI's capabilities, limitations, and societal impact, as well as appropriate versus inappropriate AI use. Students should be aware that AI is subject to potential biases and inaccuracies such as fabricated or misleading information, hallucinations or even copyrighted material. 

7. Misleading Information: Student generation of false or misleading information using AI tools and presenting it as factual including but not limited to the generation of Deepfakes in video, text, audio, or images is not allowed. 

B. Appropriate Use Examples: 

1. Brainstorming: "Using an AI to generate a list of possible research topics for an essay."

2. Outlining: "Asking an AI to help structure an argument for a debate."

3. Drafting: "Using an AI to correct grammar and spelling in a first draft of a paper."

C. Inappropriate Use Examples: 

1. Plagiarism: "Copying and pasting an entire essay generated by an AI and submitting it as your own." 

2. Cheating: "Using an AI to solve a math problem on a test where calculators are not allowed."

3. Dishonesty: "Not disclosing that you used an AI tool to help write a poem for an assignment where original, unaided work was required. 

D. Responsibilities: 

1. Student Responsibilities: To maintain and support the academic integrity of the school community by completing all assigned work, activities and tests honestly and fairly without engaging in cheating or plagiarism, including adhering to the guidelines for AI use as outlined in Sections A-C. 

2. Teacher Responsibilities: To clearly communicate expectations for AI use on all assignments, including modeling the ethical and appropriate use of AI to students. 

E. Procedure and Disciplinary Action for Inappropriate Use: 

1. Definition: The inappropriate use of AI tools in academic work, as outlined in Section A, is considered a form of academic dishonesty and falls under the definitions of cheating and/or plagiarism. 

2. Action: Any student who engages in any form of academic dishonesty, including the inappropriate use of AI will be subject to the loss of credit for the work in question in addition to other suitable disciplinary measures. 

ADOPTED: November 5, 2025 NEWTOWN PUBLIC SCHOOLS Newtown, CT