RAIL

RESPONSIBLE AI IN LEARNING

Stay Safe. Stay Ahead. 

With RAIL—the Responsible AI in Learning endorsements pioneered by Middle States—you can safely navigate the complexities of AI in education, ensuring safety, ethical leadership, and innovation.

What is RAIL?

RAIL is a comprehensive implementation framework for AI in schools and systems. It’s like accreditation for the adoption of AI—and it comes from Middle States, the world’s trusted school accreditor since 1887.

The first RAIL endorsement is in “AI Literacy, Safety, and Ethics.” Schools that pursue the RAIL endorsement from Middle States will earn a digital credential to signal their responsiveness to the most significant technology since the public Internet.

Throughout the remainder of 2024 and into 2025 we will release additional endorsements to complete the full implementation framework. You can see the entire roadmap in the RAIL Information Deck.

Why do schools need RAIL?

We are only going to see more and faster AI over the next several years. RAIL enables you to adopt AI in your school safely, ethically, and innovatively. It provides a comprehensive framework, tools, and guided implementation—all customized to align with your institution's core values.

“AI literacy includes the knowledge and skills that enable humans to critically understand, use, and evaluate AI systems and tools to safely and ethically participate in an increasingly digital world.”

—Digital Promise, Revealing an AI Literacy Framework for Learners and Educators

a quick guide to RAIL

START YOUR TRANSFORMATIVE JOURNEY TODAY. APPLY NOW.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE RAIL FOUNDING SCHOOLS FOR 2024

Who is RAIL for?

RAIL is for savvy school leaders who want to lead the way on responsible AI in service of their faculty, staff, and students. The Middle States Association’s global presence means that schools from around the world will form RAIL’s forward-thinking community.

What do schools get from RAIL?

The first RAIL endorsement is in “AI Literacy, Safety, and Ethics.” Participants will walk away with:

  1. Change strategy. Every school leader knows that it’s easy to generate innovative ideas but hard to implement them. With the help of Middle States, you will develop a plan to lead and facilitate that change. As former school leaders, we have seen this movie before—many times!

  2. Guided access. The team at Middle States will guide you through our growing library of resources, templates, and examples related to the responsible use of AI in schools. We will be “on call” to ensure your success.

  3. New (or updated) mission-critical documents. These help to ensure the safe and ethical adoption of AI across your system. Examples of such documents are school governance statements, academic policies, and a Portrait of a Graduate.

  4. Marketing toolkit. Once you’ve earned the credential, you need to communicate its value and purpose. Middle States will ensure you have the right tools for that job.

  5. Superior professional development. RAIL involves a tremendous amount of learning-by-doing, with substantial feedback from Middle States. You can’t get that kind of professional learning from a workshop or webinar!

  6. “Software updates.” As the AI landscape continues to evolve, Middle States will update the endorsement framework so that participants can always Stay Safe. Stay Ahead.

  7. Credentials. You can display this Middle States-issued credential on your website, in your email signatures, and in other digital spaces. When viewers click on the credential, they will see evidence of your success.

How does it work?

The journey to earn the first RAIL endorsement in “AI Literacy, Safety, and Ethics” follows a few simple steps:

  • Use this diagnostic to see if you should apply. [Estimated time: 2 minutes]

  • RAIL costs $3000/year, but pays for itself many times over in terms of concrete value delivered. Read our FAQs to learn more.

START YOUR TRANSFORMATIVE JOURNEY TODAY. APPLY NOW.

MEET THE MSA RAIL ADVISORY TEAM

KEY CONCEPTS

Understanding & Interacting With AI

Critical Evaluation of AI

Ethical Use & Safety in AI

KEY CONCEPT 1

Understanding and Interacting with AI

Indicators of Quality:

  • Knowledge of AI concepts and technologies.

  • Ability to interact effectively with AI systems.

Required Evidence:

  • Profile of Graduate and Profile of Teacher / Staff Member that indicates essential AI knowledge, skills, and habits of mind.

  • Digital certificate of completion of AI for Education’s “Essential Guide to AI for Educators,” the digital credentials in AI from IBM SkillsBuild, or similar high quality sources.

  • Documentation of accessibility standards and design principles for the school’s systems that rely on AI.

  • “Statement of AI Philosophy and Ideal Applications” for each department.

KEY CONCEPT 2

Critical Evaluation of AI

INDICATORS OF QUALITY

  • Ability to assess AI technologies for reliability, safety, and ethical implications.

  • Strategies for managing data privacy and parental involvement.

REQUIRED EVIDENCE

  • Policies for:

    • Data collection and privacy

    • Usage

    • Opting out

    • Risk mitigation

    • Security measures

  • Procedures for regularly updating security and for handling unethical AI uses.

  • Independent audits or reviews of AI systems.

  • Professional learning experiences organized around case studies or scenario plans about AI in education.

KEY CONCEPT 3

Ethical Use and Safety in AI

INDICATORS OF QUALITY

  • Knowledge of ethical concerns and safe practices in AI.

  • Knowledge of the social-emotional impact of AI on children.

  • Strategies for identifying and addressing AI system biases.

REQUIRED EVIDENCE

  • Board policies on:

    • AI governance

    • Anti-bias

    • Equitable access for students, faculty, and staff

  • Insurance coverage for AI liabilities.

  • Student and employee handbook statement on the school’s philosophy about safe and ethical AI.

  • Student and employee handbook policies on safe and ethical AI use.

  • Protocols for biased/unethical AI incidents.

  • Training, materials, and report templates for bias identification, mitigation, and management.

  • Disclosure procedures emphasizing transparency and responsibility.

  • Ethical consent guidelines.

  • Resources addressing the social-emotional impact of AI on students.

ASSESS YOUR “RAIL READINESS”

Not yet ready to apply? That’s ok! Complete our brief RAIL interest form to access future AI resources. You’ll also have an option to join the RAIL waitlist.

Have a Question?

Contact us.