Ctrl+Alt+Design: Youth-Led Approaches to GenAI
Youth co-designing AI policy and practice in schools
The Problem
The rapid adoption of generative AI has outpaced formal policies in most U.S. districts, leaving a void where federal regulation remains absent. Educational frameworks are frequently drafted without student consultation, creating a fundamental disconnect. Our research addresses this uncertainty, investigating how youth perceive their digital rights and determining their specific priorities for school-based AI policies and usage.
Students as Co-Designers
Utilizing a Research-Practice Partnership (RPP) approach and grounded in UN General Comment No. 25, this project centers the lived experiences of youth. We go beyond simple consultation to empower students as critical users and co-designers of school policy, ensuring that the digital environments where they learn are built with their direct input and rights in mind.
Key Activities & Outcomes
Youth Advisory Board
- 10-student cohort
- Paid stipends
- Expert consultants on District Technology Advisory Committee
Co-Design Sessions
- Digital rights workshops
- Technical GenAI knowledge
- Ethical policymaking to identify privacy and bias priorities
Tangible Outputs
- Policy Draft: Student-authored District AI Policy
- Procurement Rubric: EdTech vendor ethics checklist
- Youth Product: Community-facing peer resource
Logic Map
Logic Map Coming Soon
Why This Matters
By closing information gaps for both teachers and students, we foster critical agency in how youth interact with sophisticated technology. This ensures that the digital future of education isn't just something that happens to students, but something they consciously shape.
The goal is to move beyond reactionary responses to AI and create scalable, open-source models for other districts to follow. By documenting this youth-led approach, we provide a blueprint for humane, rights-centered technology integration in learning environments everywhere.