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Education guide

AI tools for teachers: a privacy checklist

AI tools can save teachers real time on planning, feedback and communication. They can also create real problems if student information ends up somewhere it shouldn't. This checklist helps you try AI tools without putting students, families or yourself at risk. It is general information, not legal advice; your district's policies and counsel have the final word.

1. Start with your district's policy

Before you sign up for anything, find out:

  • Does your district or school have an AI policy, or a list of approved apps?
  • Is there a process to request approval for a new tool?
  • Has the district already licensed an AI tool for staff? If so, use that one for anything involving student work.

Approved tools have usually been through a privacy review and may be covered by a signed data agreement. A personal account on a consumer app has not.

2. Look for an education version

Several vendors now offer education plans with different privacy terms from their consumer versions. Two examples, from the vendors' own pages in November 2026:

  • ChatGPT for Teachers. OpenAI offers it free to verified U.S. K-12 educators for a set period. OpenAI says content shared there is not used to train its models by default, and that the workspace is built to help schools meet FERPA requirements.
  • Canva Education. Canva says it is free for K-12 teachers and their students, that its education offerings are FERPA and COPPA compliant, that it has signed the National Data Privacy Agreement, and that it never uses student data to train AI models.

An education plan is a good sign, not a guarantee. Read the terms, and check with your district before using it with students.

3. Know the basics of the laws involved

  • FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. Grades, assessments, attendance and many other records about identifiable students are covered.
  • COPPA (the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) is a federal law about online services collecting personal information from children under 13.
  • State student-privacy laws add their own rules in many states. Your district will know which apply.

The practical takeaway: putting identifiable student information into a tool the district hasn't reviewed can create a privacy problem, even if your intentions are good.

4. Ask whether there is a data agreement

Many districts sign a data privacy agreement with vendors before staff or students use a tool. Some use a shared template such as the National Data Privacy Agreement. If a vendor won't sign one, or doesn't know what it is, treat that as a warning sign for any use involving students.

5. Read the training, retention and deletion terms

For any AI tool, find clear answers to these questions on the vendor's own pages:

  • Training: Is what I type or upload used to train AI models? Is it off by default, or do I have to opt out?
  • Retention: How long is my content kept?
  • Deletion: Can I delete my history and files, and does deletion actually remove them?
  • Sharing: Is data shared with other companies, and for what?
  • Location and security: Does the vendor describe encryption and security practices?

If you can't find the answers in plain language, that tells you something too.

6. Be careful with recording and meeting notes

AI notetakers can join video calls and record them automatically. In a school setting that raises extra questions:

  • Tell everyone at the start that the meeting is being recorded and transcribed, and why.
  • Recording laws vary by state; some require everyone's consent. Follow your district's rules.
  • Think twice before recording parent conferences, IEP meetings or anything involving student services. Ask your administrator first.
  • Check where recordings are stored and who can see the transcript.

7. Decide who has the account

There is a big difference between a teacher using AI to plan a lesson and students signing up for an AI tool. Teacher-only use with no student information is the lowest-risk starting point. Student accounts, especially for children under 13, usually need district approval and sometimes parental consent.

8. Never paste these into a consumer AI tool

  • Student names together with grades, scores, behavior notes or attendance
  • IEP, 504, health or counseling information
  • Student photos, voice recordings or work samples with names on them
  • Family contact details or home situations
  • Your own logins, or anything confidential to your school

If you want AI help with feedback, remove names and identifying details first, or use a district-approved tool.

Questions to ask a vendor

  • Do you offer an education plan, and how are its privacy terms different?
  • Is our content used to train your models? Is that off by default?
  • How long do you keep our data, and how do we delete it?
  • Will you sign our district's data privacy agreement?
  • How do you handle users under 13?
  • Who at your company can access our content, and when?

Red flags

  • No privacy policy, or one that doesn't mention AI or training
  • "Free forever" with no explanation of how the company makes money
  • Requires students to create accounts with personal email addresses
  • No way to delete data

Looking for options with education plans? See AI tools for teachers, and read how we pick the tools we list.

Last checked November 3, 2026.