According to Montclair Public Schools board meeting records and the policy document, the Board of Education approved Policy 2365 on second reading on October 14, 2026, following a first reading on September 16, 2026. The policy, titled Acceptable Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence, prohibits students in PreK through grade 8 from using generative AI in assignments or other work products. For high school students in grades 9 through 12, generative AI may be used only when a teacher authorizes it for a specific assignment and informs students of the conditions, and students must document or cite any AI-generated content. Unauthorized use is handled under the student Code of Conduct, as stated in the policy [1][2][3].
The policy includes additional provisions. It requires the Superintendent to develop and maintain a district AI Plan, which may designate an AI Coordinator. The plan must cover staff use of AI in grading, feedback, assignments, assessments, and instruction, including methods for citing AI-generated content. The policy also requires a procedure for parent or guardian requests for alternatives to AI-enabled technologies and a professional development and educational program on AI literacy for staff, students, and families. The AI Plan is to be reviewed at least annually for the first two years and every two years thereafter. Prohibited uses under the policy include misrepresenting AI-generated work as one's own, creating misinformation or deepfakes, misusing confidential student or staff personal information, and using AI to harass, bully, or intimidate [2].
Local precedents and varied local approaches
Montclair's policy is among the more restrictive in New Jersey. The South Orange & Maplewood School District adopted Policy 2365 on second reading on July 24, 2025, but its version provides guidelines for AI use at all grade levels — including categories such as Supplemental Aid, Reference and Citation, and Clarification, Not Substitution — with progressive consequences for violations, rather than a blanket prohibition through grade 8, according to the district's Policy Guide for Policy 2365 [4][11]. The New Jersey School Boards Association released its own model AI policy on April 28, 2025, promoting responsible integration with guardrails and not prescribing grade-level bans [5]. Other districts have taken different stances. River Dell Regional School District in Bergen County has guidelines for how students may use AI in assignments, with Superintendent Dr. James J. Albro emphasizing a learning-centered approach over punishment, according to an NJSBA article [8]. Eastern Camden is described in the same article as adopting AI with a positive-use framing, and Woodstown-Pilesgrove launched a two-month AI pilot in February 2025 involving approximately 200 students and 10 teachers, with results to be reported to its board [8].
State guidance remains advisory, legislation pending
The New Jersey Department of Education has not issued binding K-12 AI policy guidance. Its June 2024 resources are described by the department as advisory, outlining general principles such as building foundational AI literacy and keeping humans in the loop, but not setting grade-band restrictions or student-use prohibitions, according to the department's broadcast and webpage [6][10]. A Chalkbeat Newark report characterized the state's resources as advisory starting points, not binding policy [9]. Pending state legislation, A5184/S4469, would require every board of education to adopt a policy on responsible AI use with minimum elements and would direct the Commissioner of Education to develop a model policy. As of approval of Montclair's policy, the bill had not been enacted, according to the bill text [7].