When It Happens Here

Overview

AI tools that fabricate realistic nude images of real people have reached schools, and students, mostly girls, are being targeted by classmates. When it happens, the first hour matters, and a team that improvises causes more harm. This tabletop lets a leadership team rehearse the response before a real incident, so the moves are practiced, not panicked. Teams work a fictional, non-graphic scenario and decide, in order: how to support and protect the targeted student first, how to preserve evidence without re-sharing it, who must be reported to (law enforcement, child-protection authorities, and the federal reporting line for exploitation of minors), how the 2025 federal Take It Down Act supports rapid removal, what the discipline and due-process path is, and how to communicate with families and the community without naming victims or amplifying the material. The tone throughout is trauma-informed and non-sensational: this is image-based sexual abuse, not a prank, and the team's job is to treat it that way while protecting every student's dignity.

Objectives

• Leaders will sequence an incident response that puts the targeted student's safety and dignity first.
• Leaders will identify mandatory reports and preservation steps without re-sharing harmful material.
• Leaders will explain how the Take It Down Act and platform processes support rapid removal.
• Leaders will draft family and community communication that neither names victims nor amplifies the abuse.

Step by step

1. 10–7 min

   Hook

   The Friday the call comes

   Read the opening of Handout A aloud: a parent calls to say a fabricated nude image of their eighth-grader, made with an app and spread in a group chat, is circulating. Ask the team: "What is the very first thing we do?" Collect instinct answers, then note how many jump to the perpetrator or to discipline. Reframe: the first move is always the targeted student's safety and dignity. Today we rehearse the full sequence so no one has to invent it in the moment.

   Facilitator noteExpect a rush to punishment or to PR control. Gently redirect to the victim. Set a trauma-informed, non-sensational tone and hold it.

2. 27–19 min

   Explore

   Know the law and the reports

   Teams read Handout B: non-consensual intimate images, including AI-generated deepfakes of minors, are illegal; creating or sharing them is image-based sexual abuse and can be a crime. The 2025 federal Take It Down Act makes non-consensual intimate image sharing a crime and requires covered platforms to remove reported material, including deepfakes, quickly. Schools typically have mandatory-reporting duties to law enforcement and child-protective authorities, and should report child sexual abuse material to the national reporting line rather than handling it internally. Teams list which reports are non-negotiable in their state and district.

   Facilitator noteBe clear this is not legal advice; direct teams to verify with district counsel and local law enforcement. The point is to know that reporting is mandatory, not discretionary.

3. 319–44 min

   Apply

   Work the response sequence

   Teams work the sequence on Handout A in order: (1) Support the targeted student, safety plan, counselor, trusted adult, reassurance it is not their fault, protection from retaliation. (2) Preserve, don't spread, document what and where without downloading, forwarding, or viewing beyond what's necessary; never store the image on school devices. (3) Report, law enforcement, child-protective services, and the national exploitation reporting line, per mandatory-reporting duties. (4) Removal, platform takedown requests supported by the Take It Down Act. (5) Discipline and due process for those responsible, following policy and Title IX. (6) Care for the wider community. Teams note decisions and gaps at each step.

   Facilitator noteWatch for two failure modes: re-sharing the image "to investigate" (never) and leading with discipline before the victim is safe. Both cause real harm.

4. 444–62 min

   Create

   Communication without harm

   On Handout C, teams draft three short communications: a message to the targeted student's family, a note to the broader school community, and internal staff guidance. The rules: never name or identify the victim, never describe or link the material, don't sensationalize, state clearly that this is abuse and is being taken seriously, and tell families what to do if their child sees or has the image (don't share, report, tell an adult). Teams swap drafts and check for any wording that could re-expose or blame the victim.

   Facilitator noteCommunications are where good intentions backfire. A detail meant to inform (grade, team, class) can identify a victim. Coach ruthless de-identification.

5. 562–75 min

   Reflect

   Gaps to close before it's real

   Each team names the two biggest gaps the rehearsal exposed, a missing protocol, an unclear reporting path, no plan for removing identifiable student photos from public sites, staff who wouldn't know the first step. Prioritize them. Close on the standard: the measure of a response is whether the targeted student was protected and treated with dignity, the law was followed, and the community was informed without being harmed.

   Facilitator noteEnd on action, not reassurance. The rehearsal's value is the list of gaps the team commits to closing this month, before an incident forces the issue.

Adaptations

Elementary leadership

Adapt the scenario to younger-student contexts (a fabricated image shared among families) and emphasize child-protective reporting and family support over student discipline.

Small district

One combined team works all six steps; pre-identify the single person responsible for each report when roles are shared.

With law-enforcement liaison

Have the liaison lead the reporting and preservation steps so the team hears the real local process, chain of custody, and what not to touch.

Prevention follow-up

Pair with a staff-and-student education plan (see the companion activities) so response and prevention are built together, not in isolation.

Pairs well with

• When Disaster Strikes: Cyber Incident Response GameA companion tabletop structure for rehearsing incident response.
• CYBERSMART Ready: Educator Cybersecurity TabletopMore practice building calm, rehearsed team responses to digital incidents.
• AAP policy statement: Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents (Pediatrics, 2026)Guidance on supporting young people's wellbeing and safety in digital spaces.