A new public high school with local ties opened this week at Lasell University in Newton, becoming Massachusetts' first virtual school based on a college campus.

Felix Commonwealth Virtual School held its opening ceremony Tuesday, with classes for its inaugural class of ninth and tenth graders beginning when the school year starts Sept. 2. The school's founding superintendent, Matt Spengler, sits on the Needham School Committee, and among the students enrolled for this fall is one from Needham, according to the Needham Observer.

So far, 40 students from more than 25 communities have enrolled for September, the Observer reported. Founding principal Russell Marino said the school's growth goal is far larger: "The ultimate growth goal is to welcome 200 this year, 400 next year, 700 the year after." Hoodline reported that the school is projecting total enrollment of up to 200 students, with roughly 50 to 60 expected on the physical campus on any given day, citing OurNewton.org.

Felix blends online instruction through Arizona State University Prep's Khan World School with in-person support on Lasell's campus, an approach Marino described as combining "the flexibility of a virtual approach with the relational depth of in-person learning." Per state regulations, students must live within a 90-minute commute of Lasell. The school shares the campus with a retirement community and a preschool, Hoodline reported.

Across the river in Newton, students returning to Newton Public Schools that same Wednesday, Sept. 2 will find stricter boundaries around artificial intelligence and more writing assignments done by hand.

Superintendent Anna Nolin said the district is revising its acceptable use policy for AI this year and plans to involve students in shaping the new rules. Nolin told NBC Boston the district sits between two camps: schools that want to ban AI entirely and those looking to harness it as a teaching tool.

"We're not well-served by saying you can never use this," Nolin said. "But our teachers need to start saying, this is where you can and can't."

The shift is already visible in classrooms. Bethesda Yeh, an incoming senior at Newton South High School, said teachers are moving toward in-class essays with pencil and paper. James Garrett, also an incoming Newton South senior, said AI has potential but has become a handicap on learning for many students.

Newton North High School Principal Henry Turner flagged the issue in a May 13 email to families, warning that using AI on assignments without teacher direction violates the district's Academic Honesty Policy. The Newton Teachers Association announced in June it was forming a Committee on AI to develop clearer guidelines.

Newton North English teacher Will Marinell told The Newtonite that AI use has increased conflict between students and teachers. He said the technology works against the analytical reading, writing and thinking skills his curriculum aims to build.

Nolin acknowledged in a June interview with The Newtonite that the district's existing policy was already outdated. "We put out a policy in July, but AI has changed so much in the last six months," she said at the time. No date has been set for a formal vote on the revised policy.