Schools Must Fight AI‑Made Deepfakes, Says State Education Office

The Massachusetts Department of Education sent a letter to all school leaders warning that sharing non‑consensual AI images is illegal and urging them to stop the spread. The notice followed a report that only nine of 113 district policies mention AI‑generated sexual harassment, and just five say students will face discipline. The guidance reminds teachers that deepfakes can trigger mandatory reporting when a child is harmed, and it links to resources on cyberbullying, digital literacy and AI. Earlier this year the state gave general AI classroom rules but no specific sexual‑harassment advice, so the new letter fills that gap. A key case highlighted is Megan Mancini’s fight after a fake nude picture of her daughter circulated at Hingham Middle School. The boy who made the image was never punished, and the district ignored requests to add a rule against AI harassment. After Mancini spoke publicly, Governor Maura Healey called her and said she was “appalled” by the school’s inaction. The governor urged parents to talk with teens about deepfakes, calling them illegal and harmful.

Deepfake abuse isn’t limited to Massachusetts. A national study found 15 % of students saw explicit AI images in the past year, and some sites let teens create them for less than five dollars. West Newbury’s Pentucket Middle‑High School learned of a student account that shared AI‑made “inappropriate images” of classmates; the district is investigating, though no charges yet. The school handbook forbids technology‑based harassment but does not name AI explicitly. Only a quarter of teachers nationwide report having policies for deepfakes, according to the Center for Democracy and Technology. In Hingham, state Senator Patrick O’Connor has also reached out to Mancini and supports stronger laws against child pornography and AI misuse. Parents in Hingham push the district to update its handbook, saying “the school needs to act” and that no one else should suffer.

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