AI, Bullying To Be Discussed After Radnor Students Depicted In 'Sexualized Imagery'

RADNOR TOWNSHIP, PA — Artificial intelligence, bullying, and harassment will be among the topics discussed by the Radnor Township School District's Policy Committee Tuesday.

The policy committee will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the RTSD Administration Building, 135 S. Wayne Ave. in Wayne. Members of the public are invited to attend. The meeting will also be streamed on the district's YouTube channel.

According to the agenda, the committee will "consider whether any updates are necessary or advisable in order to address the nonconsensual use of another person's image or likeness in the creation, possession, and/or distribution of AI-generated or otherwise fake images."

Tuesday's discussion comes about two weeks after authorities announced harassment charges against a juvenile in connection with an AI-generated video that included "non-consensual sexualized imagery of multiple juveniles," with those juveniles being Radnor High School students.

The committee will discuss bullying, harassment, acceptable use of technology policies, the latter of which also includes district policies surrounding AI.

As it stands, the district defines bullying as "an intentional electronic, written, verbal or physical act or series of acts directed at another student or students, which occurs in a school setting that is severe, persistent or pervasive and has the effect of doing any of ... substantially interfering with a student’s education ... creating a threatening environment ... [and] substantially disrupting the orderly operation of the school." This also includes cyberbullying.

According to the policy, a "school setting" can also include any other "location (on or away from school property) where the District has jurisdiction over a student's conduct." That jurisdiction is as follows:

This Administrative Regulation and the accompanying Board Policy shall apply to student conduct that occurs off school property and would violate the Code of Student Conduct if:

1. There is a nexus/connection between the proximity or timing of the conduct in relation to the student's attendance at school or school-sponsored activities.

2. The student is a member of an extracurricular activity and has been notified that particular off- campus conduct could result in exclusion from such activities.

3. Student expression or conduct materially and substantially disrupts the operations of the school, or the administration reasonably anticipates that the expression or conduct is likely to materially and substantially disrupt the operations of the school.

4. The conduct has a direct nexus/connection to attendance at school or a school-sponsored activity, such as an agreement made on school property to complete a transaction outside of school that would violate the Code of Student Conduct.

5. The conduct involves theft or vandalism of school property.

Parents/guardians or students with questions regarding the District's ability to regulate off-campus behavior in a specific situation/circumstance are encouraged to direct such questions to the building principal.

As for harassment, the district defines it as "verbal, written, electronic, graphic or physical conduct relating to an individual’s actual or perceived race, color, age, creed, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, ancestry, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, marital status or handicap/disability."

The policy also touches on sexual harassment, saying it must meet at least one of the following criteria: "An employee of the District conditioning the provision of an aid, benefit, or service of the District on an individual’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct; unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the District’s education program or activity; or sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, or stalking."

Lastly, the district's AI policy prohibits "accessing, sending, transferring, viewing, sharing or downloading obscene, pornographic, lewd, or otherwise illegal or inappropriate materials, images or photographs." Additionally, it prohibits "using District technology resources to transmit hate mail/speech, communication deemed to constitute defamation or discrimination under Board Policy or applicable law, or threatening, racially offensive, or sexually explicit material.

The policy also prohibits "engaging in conduct that constitutes unlawful harassment, bullying, cyberbullying, or hazing under Board Policy or applicable law."

"Students and employees who utilize AI are fully responsible for any resulting content that is inaccurate, unsuitable, inappropriate, patently offensive, in violation of another’s rights, or of poor quality," policy states. "Use of AI by employees and students will follow the District’s prohibitions against discrimination, harassment, bullying, bias, and access to sexually explicit materials, or those which are harmful to minors or prohibited by Board policy."