As district leaders continue grappling with AI policy and enforcement, one superintendent argues that restricting the technology is no longer an option.
“We had a really great session this morning talking about the threats of AI and how to prepare students beyond the idea of banning it,” Kelly May-Vollmar, superintendent at California’s Desert Sands Unified School District, told District Administration at the 2026 Future of Education Technology Conference.
Instead, she and her team have shifted toward developing implementation plans that address the ethical and social-emotional risks associated with AI. Those risks include the ability for students to manipulate photographs without understanding the consequences and an increasing “inability to distinguish what’s real,” she says.
She also notes a growing trend of young people depending on AI for social-emotional needs, explaining that “kids are going more to AI than they are human beings.”
May-Vollmar’s background as a former chief technology officer helps her position her district as edtech evolves. When it comes to assessing new technologies for district use, she uses a “three-bucket” evaluation system: assess capacity (time and talent), create a well-written implementation plan and measure hoped outcomes.
“If you’ve got a well-thought-out plan, you can move the needle quite a bit,” she says.
Meanwhile, May-Vollmar’s core mission at FETC is to secure a virtual reality partner. Many of her students come from families with varying socioeconomic backgrounds. VR offers experiences students might otherwise not have.
“It ignites their interest,” she says, noting that there’s value in immersive tech that is far more engaging than “looking at pictures in a book.”
Looking ahead to the rest of 2026, her priorities include academic proficiency, future-focused initiatives like CTE, and a major shift in how the district tackles parent engagement. Lately, she’s found success through her “Coffee with Kelly” events, which she invites student leaders and PTO presidents as co-hosts to increase traction and interaction with families.
“I’m interacting with so many more people because these leaders are my liaisons,” she says. “Families want to see them. It’s not about me.”
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