The Broward School District has prided itself in being a national leader in the area of artificial intelligence, but now the School Board plans to discuss whether it’s time to put the brakes on the effort.
Three months after the School Board accepted a $1.2 million donation to implement an AI education program called MagicSchool AI, Board member Adam Cervera has placed a request on Tuesday’s agenda to halt the program until the district can conduct a thorough review of AI’s impacts on areas such as student privacy, educational quality and the impact of teachers’ jobs.
“Al should be a tool that supports instruction, not one that compromises student privacy, replaces sound educational judgment, or exposes children to avoidable risks,” Cervera said in a statement. “Al may ultimately have a useful role in education, but a full-scale rollout should not move forward until the District can clearly demonstrate that student data is protected, teachers remain in control of instruction, screen time concerns have been addressed, and strong safeguards are in place to protect students.”
Cervera’s request asks the school district to provide the board a written review addressing issues related to student data privacy, compliance with state and federal laws, cybersecurity risks, prevention of inappropriate conduct, product evaluations, teacher autonomy and job protection, screen time impact, educational impact, parental notice and consent, equity and accessibility, full implementation costs, training and oversight and accountability for results.
Board Chairwoman Sarah Leonardi received Cervera’s request Monday and agreed to include it as a last-minute addition to Tuesday’s special meeting. She also plans to co-sponsor the request. Leonardi told the South Florida Sun Sentinel the School Board voiced concerns about some of these issues at a workshop last week, and she had already planned to bring a similar request at a July meeting.
The board’s discussion is a stark contrast from much of the past year, when the prospect of teaching AI had created major excitement in the school district.
The district announced in June 2025 that it was collaborating with Microsoft “in a landmark initiative to bring the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to every corner of the District,” a news release at the time said, adding that the district was conducting the largest adoption of the Microsoft Copilot platform in the world.
The district has used Copilot to help educators and administrators simplify tasks. The program helps teachers develop automated lesson plans and instructional content. Facilities and operations departments have used the technology to come up with ways to become more efficient, officials said.
Lucretia and Wayne Weiner attended a meeting March 10 where the Broward School Board accepted their $1.2 million donation for an artificial intelligence initiative. Some board members now have second thoughts. (BECON / Screen Grab)
Then on March 10, the School Board agreed to purchase an AI teaching and learning program called Magic School, using a $1.2 million donation from Fort Lauderdale philanthropists Wayne and Lucretia Weiner.
The district turned that meeting into a major celebration, declaring March 10 “Broward Powered by AI Day.” Many district board members, staff and meeting attendees, including the Weiners, wore purple “Broward Powered by AI” shirts.
“Across Broward County Public Schools, we’re embracing a bold vision for what learning must look like in the years ahead,” Hepburn said at the March 10 meeting. He said AI and other technologies “are transforming the world around us, reshaping careers, industries and the skills our students will need to thrive. Our responsibility as a school system is not to react to these changes but to lead them.”
But last week, as the School Board held a workshop to share the latest AI rollout, more than a dozen parents, educators and school board members started voicing concerns about everything from privacy concerns to AI’s social and mental health effects on students. Some voiced fears that students might use AI to cheat or to find answers without actually learning the material.
“We’re stepping onto a dangerous frontier without a map, and our students will pay the price,” Coral Springs parent Jennifer Dubbin told the School Board.
Although Cervera supported the initiative in March, he said in his statement that he starting having second thoughts.
“While I was initially excited about the possible integration of Al into BCPS, after attending several workshops on these platforms and listening to parents, teachers, and constituents, I now have growing concerns about the forthcoming rollout of MagicSchool Al,” Cervera said.
It’s unclear what would happen with the Weiners’ donation if the program gets halted. The couple could not be reached for comment Monday.