EdLawConnect Blog

Several school districts across the country have recently been forced to confront negative uses of “deepfakes,”[1] a new and concerning type of generative AI technology.  Deepfakes are hyper-realistic video or audio clips of individuals that can depict individuals as saying or doing things that they never actually said or did.  Although the process is complex, the online interface and software is quite accessible to anyone who wishes to create a deepfake. https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/manipulating-reality-intersection-deepfakes-law-2024-02-01.  Someone who wants to create a deepfake only needs to input video or audio clips of an individual and direct an AI program to synthesize artificial video or audio of that individual that by all measures appears real, even if the individual never actually engaged in the depicted activity.  These manipulations have the ability to spread misinformation, undermine individuals’ credibility, and sow distrust on a very large scale.

The Education Code currently provides that students enrolled in grades K through 3 may not be suspended pursuant to Education Code 48900(k).  Furthermore, no student regardless of grade level may be recommended for expulsion based on a violation of that provision.  Senate Bill (SB) 419, introduced by Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) on February 21, 2019, would expand the existing ban on suspensions for violations of 48900(k) to students enrolled in grades 4 through 8.  In addition, the ban would also extend to students enrolled in grades 9 through 12, but this provision is scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2025.  The proposed bill also applies the ban to charter schools.