Last year, a handful of teachers in Philadelphia dedicated one week to open conversations with students about AI, academic integrity, and what learning actually means. This year, educators in 23 states are participating in AI Integrity Week — and the conversation is just getting started.
Legacy Context
This page echoes the original story of how Black Lives Matter Week of Action expanded from Philadelphia to schools nationwide. The same grassroots energy — teachers connecting across districts to address a pressing need — is driving the AI integrity movement.
The Numbers
States participating
Schools registered
Teachers involved
Days of activities
What Is AI Integrity Week?
AI Integrity Week isn't about policing or punishment. It's about creating space for honest conversations between teachers and students about AI, learning, and integrity. Participating teachers commit to:
- Day 1 - Transparency Day: Explain exactly what AI detection tools are used and how they work
- Day 2 - Student Voices Day: Let students share their perspectives on AI in education
- Day 3 - Skills Day: Discuss what skills the class is trying to build and why they matter
- Day 4 - Ethics Day: Explore the gray areas — when is AI use okay? When isn't it? Why?
- Day 5 - Commitment Day: Students and teachers articulate shared agreements about AI and learning
How It Started
The first AI Integrity Week emerged from frustration. Teachers in Philadelphia were tired of the adversarial dynamic that AI detection created — students trying to evade detection, teachers trying to catch them. They wanted something different: genuine dialogue.
"We realized we'd never actually talked to our students about why integrity matters," said one of the founding teachers. "We just assumed they understood. They didn't. Neither did we, really — not in the context of AI."
The first year was small — maybe two dozen teachers in the Philadelphia area. But they documented what they did, shared materials, and connected with teachers in other cities who were asking the same questions.
Going National
Word spread through teacher networks — Facebook groups, Twitter threads, union meetings. Teachers contacted each other, shared resources, adapted materials for their contexts. There was no central organization, no funding, no institutional support.
"That's what makes it real," says a high school English teacher from Denver who participated this year. "It's not top-down. It's teachers talking to teachers about something we all need to figure out."
What Teachers Are Learning
Participating teachers report several consistent findings:
Key Insights
- Students want clear rules: The ambiguity is stressful for them too. When teachers explain policies clearly, students report feeling relieved.
- The "why" matters: Students who understand why an assignment exists are more likely to engage authentically with it.
- Dialogue reduces adversarialism: When teachers and students talk openly about AI, the cat-and-mouse dynamic softens.
- Students are more thoughtful than expected: Given space to reflect, most students have nuanced views about AI and integrity.
How to Participate
AI Integrity Week is open to any teacher. There's no registration fee, no certification, no institutional requirement. Here's how to get started:
- Download the free resource kit from our Teaching with AI page
- Choose a week that works for your schedule (the "official" week is in October, but anytime works)
- Adapt the materials for your students and context
- Share what you learn with colleagues
What's Next
The organizers — if you can call a decentralized teacher network that — hope to see AI Integrity Week continue growing organically. They're not interested in institutionalizing it or making it mandatory. The power is in the voluntary participation, the teacher-to-teacher connection, the grassroots energy.
"We learned from the Black Lives Matter Week of Action that movements spread when they're worth spreading," says a founding organizer. "Our job isn't to manage it. It's to make it useful enough that teachers want to participate."