Salamanca City Central School District in western New York paused plans to put a nearly $60,000 humanoid AI robot into its high school technology program. District officials nicknamed the stationary robot Sally and described uses in robotics, maintenance and troubleshooting lessons. The broader pilot also contemplated a virtual assistant and an at-home tutoring service.
Parents and teachers raised questions about student information and the boundaries of the robot’s role. The state education commissioner questioned whether calling it a tutoring platform conflicted with assurances that it would not teach. The district said it would negotiate enhanced student-data privacy agreements before proceeding.
Salamanca sits on the Seneca Nation reservation and district leaders said remote geography limits students’ access to emerging technology. Realbotix has a corporate relationship with a separate adult-product company, which intensified public objections. The district and manufacturer said the educational unit was purpose-built and would keep student-linked data under district control. The dispute combines procurement, instructional policy and privacy law. A local board can approve spending, but state education requirements and negotiated data terms still govern how a product may reach students.
Officials also promised additional community outreach. No revised deployment date had been announced. Those statements describe planned safeguards; they had not yet been embodied in a final reviewed agreement. The hold leaves several outcomes possible, including cancellation, a smaller noninteractive demonstration or a revised pilot. The public record did not establish which option the board now favors.
The reporting available at the edition deadline did not resolve this point: no final privacy agreement, state approval or new deployment schedule was public. The next dated records are the state education review and a board decision to cancel, narrow or resume the pilot.