Microsoft will bar its AI tools from using student data for training, advertising or product development under a new agreement with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) that takes effect Nov. 1.

The National AI Safety & Privacy Standard, announced Sept. 9 by Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith and AFT President Randi Weingarten, is legally binding and enforceable through third-party audits. Districts that write the standard into their Microsoft contracts gain remedies including termination and damages if the company violates the terms, WCCB Charlotte reported.

Starting Nov. 1, any U.S. school district with a Microsoft contract can add the protections without renegotiating. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, the state's second-largest district with nearly 140,000 students, has not publicly responded to the agreement. The agreement runs two years from signing and must be renewed in writing.

Google, the dominant provider of K-12 education technology, has not committed to similar protections. Weingarten said she contacted Google before the announcement, hoping the company would sign on. Google did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Josh Golin, executive director of online safety nonprofit Fairplay, called Google's response "a huge question" for schools. Google turned on its Gemini chatbot for many K-12 students using Google Classroom in August. Google Classroom serves 150 million teachers and students worldwide, according to the company. Until August, Gemini had been restricted to users 18 and older.

What the agreement covers

The 30-page standard includes ten binding principles. Microsoft cannot use student or educator data to train AI systems, with a narrow exception for student-safety purposes. The agreement bans AI companion features that foster emotional attachment or dependency in students. The company must disclose to families in plain language how its tools work and must report data breaches within 72 hours, according to Fortune.

Elizabeth Laird, director at the Center for Democracy and Technology, said the standard relieves pressure on individual districts that previously had to negotiate privacy protections on their own.

"I think this standard makes progress toward not having that type of inequity across school districts," Laird told the AP.

CMS tech restrictions already in place

CMS began the 2026-27 school year on Aug. 25 with new restrictions. Students in kindergarten through second grade can no longer access YouTube independently on their iPads, though teachers can still lead classes in using the platform. Students must keep cellphones, smartwatches and personal devices "off and away" during instructional time under a policy adopted last year following a state law.

Some CMS parents had raised concerns about screen time for younger students, The Charlotte Ledger reported.

Golin cautioned that the Microsoft agreement does not cover the thousands of smaller AI-driven ed-tech products schools also use. New York City and Los Angeles, the country's two largest districts, have taken a different approach, imposing one-year moratoriums on student AI use.

OpenAI and Anthropic both said they are in discussions with the AFT on similar agreements. Whether CMS will write the Microsoft standard into its own contracts remains unanswered.