Chicago Public Schools Blocks Artificial Intelligence on Student Accounts

Chicago Public Schools has decided to block generative artificial intelligence tools such as Google Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude on student accounts and network devices in order to protect student privacy and comply with federal and state laws.

In a statement issued by Chicago Public Schools (CPS), it was stated that artificial intelligence applications were banned for reasons of student privacy and security. Accordingly, tools such as Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude have been disabled for all students on devices and networks provided by CPS.

The school administration stated that unapproved third-party artificial intelligence products were blocked from the network to protect confidential student information and comply with federal and state privacy laws, including FERPA, COPPA, and SOPPA. CPS noted that it has no plans to add artificial intelligence tools to students' devices in the future.

On the other hand, Google had announced that it would block search access for schools that ban the use of artificial intelligence. Following a survey of school administrators and teachers, the Alphabet-owned search giant reported that it would turn off all artificial intelligence in educational applications for K-12 students unless administrators explicitly and proactively enable it.