Key Takeaways
- Greater visibility across the district ecosystem: The new Leadership Dashboard brings together student safety trends, generative AI usage, screen time, and compliance signals into one executive-level view.
- Proactive student safety in the age of AI: Expanded monitoring across tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot — along with LMS integration and enhanced escalation workflows — helps districts intervene earlier and more effectively.
- Flexible classroom control with built-in guardrails: New Classroom enhancements, including tab limits and Teacher Override with audit logging, give educators flexibility while maintaining district oversight.
In Part 2 of our Lightspeed Product Roadmap webinar, we focused on how we’re strengthening student safety, expanding visibility into generative AI, and giving educators more flexible classroom controls — all while providing district leaders clearer, executive-level insight.
Joined by Jennifer Duer (VP of Product, Student Success) and Mike Ruby (Senior Director of Product, Data & Insights), we walked through what’s newly released and what’s coming next across Lightspeed Alert, StopIt, Classroom, and our new Leadership Dashboard.
If you missed the webinar, here’s a recap or you can watch it now on-demand.
Leadership Dashboard: Executive-Level Visibility for K–12
We began with the new Leadership Dashboard, designed specifically for superintendents and cabinet leaders.
This dashboard consolidates platform-wide insights into five key areas:
- Student safety trends and escalation data
- Generative AI and application usage
- Screen time patterns
- Security and proxy signals
- Device and operational health
The goal is to surface strategic signals early — whether that’s AI adoption trends, rising safety risks, or compliance gaps — without requiring leaders to dig through operational reports.
The Leadership Dashboard is included at no additional cost and is currently in early access.
Lightspeed Alert™: Proactive Student Safety & AI Monitoring
Jennifer then walked through several meaningful updates to Lightspeed Alert™ and Lightspeed StopIt™.
- Expanded LMS Visibility (Canvas Integration)
- Alert now extends monitoring into Canvas discussions and assignments — even on personal devices — giving districts better visibility into harmful behavior or bullying within LMS environments.
- AI Monitoring for ChatGPT, Gemini & Copilot
- As generative AI becomes embedded in instruction, visibility matters. Alert monitors prompts and responses across major AI platforms, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, and Character.ai. Even unsent content can trigger risk signals — helping schools intervene earlier.
- AI Justifications
- New AI Justifications provide context around why content was flagged, allowing administrators to quickly understand and act without reviewing entire documents.
- Enhanced Escalation Workflows
- Escalation lists are now unlimited, with prioritized contact ordering and after-hours snoozing options — giving districts more flexible response structures.
- Multi-Language Monitoring
- Alert now supports additional languages, including Portuguese and Haitian Creole, helping ensure safety monitoring remains inclusive.
What’s Coming Next:
- SMS notifications for high-risk escalations
- Mobile-responsive Alert access
- Integrated Lightspeed Learning Lab training
Lightspeed Classroom™: Flexibility with Guardrails
Mike then covered new and upcoming updates in Lightspeed Classroom™, focused on reducing distractions while maintaining district oversight.
Limit Tabs for Chrome
Districts can set baseline tab limits, and teachers can temporarily reduce the number of open tabs during live sessions to improve focus. Settings automatically revert at the end of class.
Teacher Override (with Audit Trail)
Teachers will soon be able to temporarily override select filtering categories during instruction — within IT-defined guardrails. All overrides are logged, and policies automatically revert after class.
Multiple Device Visibility
Teachers can now see when students are logged into multiple devices and choose which device to monitor.
Two-Way Messaging
Upcoming classroom chat includes built-in moderation and administrative visibility, with standard 90-day in-interface retention.
Moving Forward
Across every update, our focus is consistent:
- Provide district leaders clearer strategic visibility
- Strengthen proactive student safety monitoring
- Support responsible AI adoption in K–12
- Give teachers flexible tools without sacrificing oversight
If you missed the session, I encourage you to watch the recording — and if you’re interested in early access features or joining our Lightspeed Champions program, we’d love your feedback.
We’re continuing to build this roadmap alongside our district partners — and the innovation isn’t slowing down.
Webinar Q&A
We had some thoughtful questions during the live session. Below are the key ones we addressed — especially around oversight, compliance, and generative AI in schools.
Is the Lightspeed Leadership Dashboard included with our current subscription?
Yes — the Leadership Dashboard is included at no additional cost.
We built this as an executive-level visibility layer across the platform, not as an add-on product. It’s designed to give superintendents and cabinet leaders strategic insight into student safety trends, AI usage, screen time, compliance signals, and device health — all in one place.
During early access, it’s available within the Filter navigation for account owners, and we’ll continue expanding role-based access as the rollout progresses.
How does Teacher Override work in Lightspeed Classroom?
Teacher Override is designed to balance instructional flexibility with district-level control.
Here’s how it works:
- IT administrators define which content categories are eligible for temporary override.
- Teachers can adjust access during a live class session for instructional purposes.
- All overrides are logged in a full audit trail.
- Policies automatically revert to district defaults at the end of the session.
This ensures teachers can adapt in the moment — without compromising compliance, filtering policies, or visibility.
How does Lightspeed monitor generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot?
Lightspeed Alert™ monitors both prompts and responses across supported generative AI platforms, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, and Character.ai.
If a student types concerning content — even if they don’t ultimately submit it — the signal can still be captured and evaluated. That’s critical in an environment where AI tools are increasingly embedded into everyday instruction.
AI guardrails within those platforms are helpful, but they don’t replace district oversight. Our approach ensures schools can embrace AI innovation while maintaining proactive student safety monitoring.
How long are Lightspeed Classroom™ chat messages retained?
Classroom two-way messaging follows standard Lightspeed data retention policies.
- Messages are visible within the interface for 90 days.
- After that, they remain accessible through reporting exports.
- Administrative visibility and moderation controls are built in.
This gives districts documented communication trails while maintaining clear retention standards.
Can districts customize escalation workflows in Lightspeed Alert™?
Yes — and this was an important update.
Escalation lists are now unlimited. Districts can:
- Add multiple contacts at the district or school level
- Prioritize contact order
- Snooze specific contacts outside working hours
This flexibility supports larger districts, tiered safety teams, and after-hours response models — ensuring high-risk alerts reach the right people quickly.
Does Lightspeed Alert™ support monitoring in multiple languages?
Yes. Lightspeed Alert™ now supports additional languages, including Portuguese and Haitian Creole, alongside previously supported languages.
When enabled, administrators can see both the original content and the translated text. We’re continuing to evaluate additional languages to ensure student safety monitoring is inclusive and comprehensive.
