Radnor school board faces criticism over response to AI student videos

Radnor school board faces criticism over response to AI student videos

Parents in Radnor Township are demanding accountability and transparency from the school board after AI-generated non-consensual videos of students circulated, prompting ongoing concerns and calls for policy changes.

PHILADELPHIA - Parents in Radnor Township are continuing to call for transparency and accountability from the school board, more than two months after AI-generated videos depicting several students in an inappropriate manner began circulating.

Parents call for answers at school board meeting

What we know:

Parents voiced concern and sadness at the school board meeting about how the district handled non-consensual, sexualized AI-generated videos of multiple female students. The videos began circulating in early December.

One parent said, "The victims deserve clarity. They deserve accuracy. Our daughters matter. Their bodies matter," said Audrey Greenberg, parent.

Another parent added, "Every student in this district is watching. Every future victim is watching whether speaking up will be met with support or with dismissal," said Morgan Dorfin, parent.

The high school sent an email to parents alerting them about the videos and said that as soon as the situation was brought to their attention, they launched an internal investigation and contacted Radnor police.

Some parents believe the district downplayed the situation, pointing to a January 16 email that stated no evidence shared with law enforcement depicted anything inappropriate or any other related crime. Parents say this was despite police charging a juvenile with harassment in connection with the deep fake videos two days earlier.

One parent said, "I'm worried this could happen again and pretty confident it will happen again so it's about being prepared, asking what we can do differently," said Greenberg.

School board responds to community concerns

The backstory:

The school board director issued a statement acknowledging the difficulty of the situation for families involved. "We recognize the pain and the concern this has caused and we feel deeply for those affected," said Liz Duffy, Radnor Township School Board director.

Duffy also said that because minors are involved, it is inappropriate to discuss the matter in a public forum, but she said many changes are being made as a result. "We have already begun the process of examining existing policies to update and strengthen them to better reflect the emerging AI and digital landscape to protect students' well-being," said Duffy.

The school board says it is also working to update the student handbook to clearly communicate the consequences of non-consensual digital media and is developing education programming for all students on this issue.

What we don't know:

It is not clear what specific policy changes will be made or when they will take effect. 

The full details of the internal investigation and the outcome for the students involved have not been shared publicly.