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Salamanca Pauses $57K AI Robot Pilot Over Privacy Concerns

7/26/2026

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Salamanca Pauses Robot

The Salamanca City Central School District signed a $57,590 Realbotix agreement to pilot robot Sally and an AI tutor in September.
Privacy concerns and backlash led the district to pause the rollout and work with Education Department on protections.
Superintendent Mark Beehler said teachers remain instructors and robot will not collect data.
Education Commissioner Betty Rosa raised privacy concerns, prompting the district’s pause.

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Salamanca Pilots Robot

The Salamanca City Central School District signed a $57,590 contract with Realbotix to pilot a robot Sally and an AI teaching assistant in September.
Critics argue the robot threatens human interaction and is tone-deaf to the district’s Native American student body.
Teachers’ union president Lacey Pihlblad warned of software security risks and urged a pause.
State teachers’ leader Melinda Person called robot creepy, noting 40% of students are Native American.

History

Historical Context

After LAUSD’s controversial 2013 iPad rollout—criticized for cost, conflicts of interest, and a 2014 FBI seizure of program records—the district signed a $12 million 2016 deal with adaptive-learning firm Knewton, prompting a state lawsuit alleging FERPA violations for data on more than 200,000 students. Similar privacy pushback arose in Salamanca’s $57,590 robot-tutor contract, underscoring growing regulator scrutiny of ed-tech data use.

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Salamanca Pauses Robot

The Salamanca City Central School District signed a $57,590 Realbotix agreement to pilot robot Sally and an AI tutor in September.
Privacy concerns and backlash led the district to pause the rollout and work with Education Department on protections.
Superintendent Mark Beehler said teachers remain instructors and robot will not collect data.
Education Commissioner Betty Rosa raised privacy concerns, prompting the district’s pause.

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