As Georgia classrooms fill back up, some parents in the Atlanta area are objecting to a state-funded AI program used to screen young students for dyslexia.
Their unease goes beyond the assessment itself. Many families are questioning whether kindergartners' voices, images, and personal information should be used in an AI-based system in the first place.
What's happening?
At the center of the dispute is Amira, an AI program schools use for both learning and testing, which has prompted concern from families in the Atlanta area, according to 11Alive. Many parents are particularly uneasy because the program is being used with some of the youngest children in public school.
In Amira's own materials, the company presents the program as a way to lighten teachers' workloads.
"Think about one teacher in a classroom," Ebony Brown, coordinator of elementary ELA in Clayton County schools, said. "Amira steps in and does a phenomenal job with lifting that load."
Atlanta Public Schools board chair Jessica Johnson said some parents have asked whether the AI-based dyslexia screener could be creating what they see as lasting personal traces.
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"Parents have definitely raised some concerns about whether the AI tool that was used as part of the dyslexia screener was leaving, I guess, what they call personal imprints," she said.
Carolyn Boyd, a former teacher who now has a child entering kindergarten in APS, said school systems using Amira or similar AI tools should rethink that choice.
Why does it matter?
For many parents, the fight is part of a larger debate over technology in schools: Who benefits from it, and who takes on the risk? Boyd summed up that concern directly.
"We're giving them our kids' data, their images, their voices," Boyd said. "I don't feel safe having my kids' images and voices just out in the ether being used to train AI models to replace the staff that the school should be hiring."
As the school year begins, families are being forced to weigh screenings, consent, and how much of a role AI should have in their children's education.
What's being done?
Johnson said opting out is difficult because the state is paying for Amira.
"We've reached out to the state to identify parents who are uncomfortable," she said. "Because the state is paying for this Amira tool, there are some processes we have to follow in terms of making sure our students are screened."
Atlanta Public Schools said it's trying to respond to those parental concerns.
"We recognize that Amira includes an artificial intelligence component as well as a paper-and-pencil option," an APS spokesperson said. "Protecting student data remains a top priority."
The district said digital tools approved for use must comply with privacy laws including FERPA, COPPA, and the Georgia Student Data Privacy Act.
APS added that it is "actively working with Amira and the GaDOE to finalize guidance for providing a paper and pencil administration of the assessment for any family that requests an alternative to a digital version."
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