Image Credit: Canva.
Article by Olivia Lupia, Tennessee Conservative News –
A Haywood County resident has filed a lawsuit against Tennessee education policymakers, alleging the subcommittee responsible for crafting artificial intelligence (AI) policies for K-12 classrooms has been working in secret, violating the state’s Sunshine Laws.
The Tennessee Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council’s education subcommittee is tasked with establishing K-12 literacy standards, classroom AI safety rules, and teacher training pathways, but the complaint claims the subcommittee’s meetings are not available to the public and that business that directly impacts the public is being conducted in secret.
Filed on October 15 in Davidson County Chancery Court, the petition names the council itself, the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administrations, state AI Director Roger Waynick, and Commissioner Jim Bryson as defendants. It appears to center on a series of emails last month wherein Waynick reportedly referred to the subcommittee’s work as “essentially research sessions” and thereby exempt from Tennessee’s open records laws.
Under state law, a public governing body is defined as a group of two or more people with authority to make decisions or recommendations about public business. The complaint argues that the subcommittee matches that definition, especially as the council will make their own decisions based of the subcommittee’s recommendations, and is therefore in violation of the transparency laws.
And earlier this year, Commissioner Bryson even noted that, “the subcommittees are really where, as you all know, where the bulk of the work is done.”
The council submits quarterly updates to the state, with a final AI action plan due by Dec. 31, 2028, and some members have previously raised transparency concerns which were put off by other members.
In February, member Vinay Dattu advocated for a public-facing transparency portal that “should not be kind of lost in these subcommittee structures,” but was rebutted by member Kristen Darby who said transparency was built into the “ethos of the entire AI council” and would be reflected in future reports.
The legal filing maintains that Tennesseans have a right to observe government decision-making and requests a court injunction requiring the council to open all future meetings, maintain public minutes, and release all past records.
“[The] educational subcommittee is drafting statewide educational policy, and public oversight is essential to democratic accountability,” the complaint states.
Some legal experts are supposedly anticipating the case could set precedent for how states handle transparency in education governance as Tennessee schools continue to rapidly adopt AI tools for various purposes including personalized learning, grading, security, and administrative tasks.
Sources:
WKRN.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
What parents really need to be worried about is AI further indoctrinating our children. Back in 2010 and up to 2015 TN Citizens Against Common Core tried to warn people about the the dumbing down of our children that will be the result of Common Core and recent NAEP tests prove we were right BUT we also tried to warn teachers that another goal was to eliminate teachers. They want all children getting the same message (indoctrination) and teachers all with their own ideas and positions on issues interfere with the goal of all children being taught the same thing and that is not just in America folks. Common Core was global and with the same goals. Dumbing down and capturing the minds and souls of our children. AI does not belong in the classroom. To be honest our children do not belong in public schools. The day is also fast approaching when the agenda to ban home education will start…..so take advantage of it while you can if you want truly educated independent thinkers.