The short answer
- A free, copy-paste letter to tell families how AI is handled in your class — clear enough that no jargon is needed.
- Adapt it: swap in your name, subject, and specific rules; a letter that reads like a template gets treated like one.
- Its whole job is to prevent confusion — parents who understand your expectations reinforce them at home.
- Pair it with your classroom AI policy for students.
This domain spent its first decade helping teachers send documents home. In that spirit, here’s the letter this moment calls for: a plain-language note to families explaining how AI is handled in your class. Copy it, make it yours, and send it.
Dear families,
You’ve probably noticed that AI tools like ChatGPT are now part of how students do schoolwork. I want to briefly share how we’re handling that in our class, so we’re all on the same page.
Our approach is simple: AI is welcome as a tool for understanding, but not as a way to skip the learning. Using AI to explain a tricky concept, check work, or make practice questions can genuinely help. Using it to write an assignment or produce answers your child can’t explain does not — and at school, submitting AI’s work as one’s own is treated the same as any other form of copying.
I’m not banning technology. Your child will use AI in college and in work, and part of my job is teaching them to use it honestly and well. To that end, I ask students to tell me when they’ve used AI on an assignment — a simple note is enough. Being open about it is exactly the habit I want them to build.
How you can help at home: you don’t need to be a technology expert. If you want to check that your child is learning rather than outsourcing, the most useful question isn’t “did you use AI?” — it’s “show me how you got there.” A child who understands their work can walk you through it; one who skipped the thinking can’t, and that’s a helpful thing for both of us to know.
If you ever have questions about our AI expectations, please reach out. Thank you for partnering with me on this.
Warm regards, [Your name] [Subject / grade] · [School]
How to make it yours
Change the wording. A letter that sounds generic gets skimmed and filed; a letter in your own voice, mentioning your subject and your class, gets read. Add anything specific to how you run things — for example, if math homework and essay homework have different rules, say so.
Two things worth keeping, whatever you change:
- The reassurance that you’re not banning technology. Parents worry AI will either ruin learning or that their child will be left behind; naming both fears calmly defuses them.
- The “show me how you got there” line. It’s the single most useful thing you can hand a parent, because it works without any technical knowledge and it teaches rather than accuses. It’s the same question we recommend throughout our parents’ section.
Pair it with the student policy
The parent letter explains your expectations to families; the classroom AI policy sets them out for students, assignment by assignment. Sending both — one home, one to the class — means everyone’s working from the same understanding, which prevents most AI-related conflict before it starts.
For the bigger picture, see how to write a classroom AI policy and our guide for parents.
Frequently asked questions
What should a letter to parents about AI say?
Keep it short and jargon-free. Explain that AI tools are now part of schoolwork, state your class’s basic expectation (understand, don’t outsource; disclose any help), reassure parents you’re teaching honest use rather than banning technology, and tell them the one useful question to ask at home: ‘show me how you got there.’ Avoid technical detail — parents need clarity, not a lecture on how AI works.
Why send parents an AI policy letter at all?
Because parents who understand your expectations reinforce them, and because it prevents the confusion and conflict that arise when a family doesn’t know whether AI use is allowed. A clear letter turns parents into allies, heads off ‘but I didn’t know’ situations, and signals that you’re handling AI thoughtfully rather than reactively.