Holliston IT outlines ADA web compliance, AI steering committee and capital needs

The School Committee heard a technology update that covered three linked priorities: digital accessibility under Title II (ADA), artificial intelligence policy and pilot use, and capital work to modernize networking infrastructure.

On accessibility, the district was advised to convert committee policies and other public documents to web pages, add accessibility language to procurements, and archive or remediate noncompliant items by an enforcement date cited as April 2027. Staff said the work will require cross‑department coordination to ensure public pages, hyperlinks, captions and color contrast meet requirements.

On AI, the committee learned that an AI steering committee and subcommittees are meeting to develop recommendations and public resources. The district obtained access to a ChatGPT enterprise license for staff that staff said meets privacy requirements and will be available free through June 2027; the district emphasized the license is for staff only while other platforms (Gemini) are approved for student usage. Committee members raised questions about whether enterprise usage trains public models; staff said the enterprise configuration protects district data.

Capital items discussed included replacing high‑school network switches estimated at $130,000–$140,000, battery backups and cable runs, and a forecasted $90,000 switch project with partial reimbursement from E‑rate. The technology director noted constraints such as 14‑year‑old switches limiting Wi‑Fi 7 performance and recommended sequencing purchases to maximize reuse in a future high‑school project.

Committee members asked for follow‑up about procedures for messaging platforms, whether PDFs should be linked for accessibility and the costs of enterprise AI licenses after June 2027. Staff said they will return with more detailed recommendations and cost estimates.