Google announced that Gemini in Google Classroom and the Gemini app will be available to K-12 students of all ages starting August 10, 2026. The expansion removes the previous restriction that limited the tools to educators and students age 18 and older. Students whose district administrators enable the tools can access a dedicated Gemini tab in Classroom offering starter prompts labeled help me learn, quiz me, make flashcards, and create a study guide. Those with Gemini Notebook access can sync teacher-provided materials to generate interactive study guides, audio overviews, infographics, and flashcards.
Google said the Gemini app is now classified as a core Workspace service, a status that changes how parental consent is handled. Google’s Terms of Service require organizations to obtain parental consent before activating additional services for users under 18, but core services are covered under the standard Workspace for Education agreement. Google provides a template notice for schools to use when gathering parent or guardian consent that lists Gemini for Education and Gemini Notebook among the core services.
What Google says about privacy
Google stated that student data from Gemini chats in the education environment is not human reviewed and is not used to train AI models. The company said Gemini for Education and Gemini Notebook support compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The Workspace for Education Privacy Notice states that core services collect account information such as name and email address, activity data such as how users view and interact with content, customer data such as items created or uploaded, and settings and device information. Google said it does not show personalized ads to K-12 users and does not use core service personal information for advertising.
Google’s own Generative AI Privacy Hub documentation says that when Gemini is used with enterprise-grade data protection in Workspace for Education, user prompts are considered customer data under the Cloud Data Processing Addendum and are not used for generative AI model training without prior permission. However, the documentation notes that Gemini app conversation retention can be controlled by administrators, with prompts and responses retained up to 36 months depending on admin settings. This is Google’s own documentation, not an independent evaluation.
The company also stated that Gemini for Education received the Common Sense Media Privacy Seal, a third-party privacy evaluation indicating the product meets Common Sense Media’s privacy standards. The seal represents a privacy assessment rather than a study of educational effectiveness.
How districts are setting their own rules
Individual school districts are arriving at different answers about which students can use Gemini and under what conditions, even as all rely on Google’s stated privacy protections.
Torrance Unified School District in California approved Google Gemini for K-12 student use across all grade levels, with access through Schoology courses. The district aligned its board policies with California Assembly Bill 2876, focusing on critical media literacy, digital citizenship, and student privacy. Teachers set classroom-level expectations for AI use.
Stillwater Public Schools in Minnesota approved Gemini and NotebookLM as core services for all staff and students in grades 6-12. The district adopted board policy EFEAA requiring AI tools to comply with data privacy laws, and stated that student chats, prompts, and files are never used to train AI models or shared outside the district. Stillwater also prohibits AI detection tools, citing inaccuracy and bias against English learners.
Allen Independent School District in Texas allows Google Gemini for Education as the only open-question AI tool for younger students. The district does not allow ChatGPT and similar open tools, and requires students to log in with district credentials to ensure they use the Education version. The district cited FERPA and COPPA compliance and said district administrators can manage and delete data.
Suffolk Public Schools in Virginia announced it will provide middle and high school students access to Google Gemini and NotebookLM starting January 26, 2026. The district established guidelines that AI may be used as a coach or collaborator depending on teacher direction, and stated that unless explicitly permitted, students should not use AI for assignments.
Saint Paul Public Schools in Minnesota encourages staff and students in grades 9-12 to use Gemini, noting that student data is never used to train AI models. The district blocked ChatGPT, Grok, and Perplexity on school Wi-Fi and student devices. Philadelphia School District similarly approved Gemini for grades 9-12 starting January 2025. Winchester Public Schools in Virginia launched Gemini for grades 9-12 in spring 2025 through a cohort with the Virginia Association of School Superintendents.
Google said that the Gemini tab in Classroom is on by default for teachers and students of all ages, but administrators control access through the Admin console. If an admin has turned off Gemini in Classroom for students, access remains off for all students including those under 18. Admins can create organizational units to selectively disable Gemini for users under 18.