Every international school is writing AI policy in isolation. Without developmental science. Without a shared evidence base. Without a governance architecture that reflects how children's brains actually develop.

Most AI governance in schools focuses on academic integrity. Whether students can use AI. Whether they declare it. How to detect misuse. These are not the most important questions.

The prefrontal cortex, responsible for planning, decision-making, and critical evaluation, is not fully developed until the mid-twenties. Ages three to twelve are a critical window for executive function formation. What children are exposed to during these years shapes that development permanently.

Unrestricted AI interaction during formative years is not a neutral choice. It is an intervention in a developmental process. The question is not whether a school has an AI policy. It is whether that policy is grounded in what AI is actually doing to developing brains.

JAI Behavioural's AI Governance Framework addresses four constituencies: staff, students, parents, and leadership.

It covers use guidelines, data privacy, age-appropriate access, academic integrity, safeguarding, CPD, and policy ownership.

3 to 6 — no AI exposure

7 to 9 — computer literacy without AI

10 to 12 — narrow supervised use

13 and above — supervised independence within a governance framework