SPRINGFIELD — State Senator Robert Martwick’s legislation that would require students be graded by teachers and not artificial intelligence has passed.
“Decisions about grading and student assessment require oversight and fairness from trained professionals, not large language models prone to hallucination and implicit bias,” said Martwick (D-Chicago). “We are in a new world where AI is trying to creep into every aspect of our lives. It is vital to place guardrails for our children to ensure they are protected in educational settings.”
Senate Bill 416 would prohibit teachers from using artificial intelligence to grade a student’s work. It also requires that any other use of AI in a classroom setting be approved by the school board.
A number of schools have implemented policies against students using artificial intelligence in their schoolwork for many reasons, including cheating and plagiarism. Ultimately, students are meant to demonstrate their understanding of a topic. For that same reason, teachers are meant to judge whether a student has understood a topic or not when grading.
“The process of grading student’s work deserves the thoughtful human judgement, context and care that only educators can provide,” said Martwick. “Teachers shape young minds and guide our children to be the leaders of tomorrow, which can only be done with by a compassionate human, not artificial intelligence.”
Senate Bill 416 – which is part of the Senate’s AI protection package – passed the Senate Thursday.
