# AI in Your Child's School | National Parents Union > Free parent guide from the National Parents Union to AI in your child's school: the red, yellow and green framework, the protections every district policy should include, questions to ask, and a letter builder. URL: https://mykidmydata.org/ Publisher: National Parents Union (https://nationalparentsunion.org) Language: English Last updated: 2026-10-07 # Preparing Our Kids for the Future and Keeping Them Safe. AI is already in your child's classroom, and it's not going away. Done well, it can open real doors, preparing kids for the world they're stepping into and giving teachers powerful new tools. Done carelessly, it puts their data, their development, and their dignity at risk. Our children deserve both: a real education for the innovations ahead, and real protection along the way. This guide shows every family what strong school AI policy looks like, what to ask, and how to advocate for safer, smarter use in your district and state. 10,000+ downloads from parents who want the right questions to ask their school **56%** of parents say their child uses AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini or Snap's My AI **30%** of parents have ever been asked for input on AI at their kid's school **79%** of parents want to be involved in AI decisions at their child's school **67%** say more needs to be done to tell parents how their kids' data is used **86%** say chatbots should be legally required to warn minors before sensitive content Source: National Parents Union / Echelon Insights survey of 1,511 parents of K-12 public school students, fielded February 12 to 18, 2026. Margin of error ±2.6 points. "Teaching and learning are human endeavors served by technology, not replaced by technology." Hold your district to this principle. AI can support educators. It cannot replace the judgment of a person who knows your child. The Framework ## The Traffic Light: What AI Should and Shouldn't Do A red / yellow / green model, adopted by leading districts and student-safety advocates, sorts AI uses into "never," "with caution," and "encouraged." Click each light to see what falls under it, and what it means for your family. Red Light ### Never. No exceptions. AI should be strictly prohibited for these decisions. A human educator must always be the decision-maker. - **Grading student work**: assessment must be done by a person. - **Discipline decisions**: suspensions, referrals, classroom removals. - **Writing or developing IEPs and 504 plans** for students with disabilities. - **Placement decisions**: advanced classes, promotion, graduation, retention. - **Counseling students** or providing mental health support. - **Crisis intervention**: never the right tool for a child in distress. - **Surveillance of students**: including emotion or behavior monitoring. **What this means for your family:** If a teacher or administrator tells you an AI tool determined your child's placement, discipline, or special education plan, that's a violation of every responsible policy in this space. You can push back, and ask for a written record. Yellow Light ### Proceed with caution. Allowed only with significant human oversight. Trained adults must review every output before it touches your child. - **Analyzing trends in student data**: only by trained staff, never the final word. - **Generating translations** for multilingual learners, must be reviewed by a qualified human. - **Adapting materials** for students with disabilities, reviewed by educators before use. - **Critical communications** with families, drafts only, reviewed and signed off by staff. - **Drafting student feedback or report card comments**: only with full educator review. **What this means for your family:** Yellow-light uses are the highest-risk zone. They often touch your most vulnerable students, multilingual learners, students with IEPs or 504 plans. Ask schools how they verify that human review actually happens. Green Light ### Encouraged. Lower-risk uses that don't directly affect students' education or records. - **Brainstorming**: lesson ideas, activity options. - **Organizing information**: outlines, summaries of public documents. - **Drafting non-sensitive communications**. - **Scheduling and formatting documents**. **What this means for your family:** Even "green" uses can drift. A draft newsletter is fine; a draft that quietly includes your child's name and details is not. The category is about the task, not the tool. Insist on disclosure when AI touches anything about your child. The Floor ## What Strong School AI Policies Guarantee These are the protections every district's policy should include, based on the best practices emerging from leading districts and student data privacy advocates. If your district's policy is missing any of these, you have an advocacy target. #### Your child's data is never sold Student information cannot be monetized, by the district, vendors, or anyone else. #### It cannot train AI models Under no circumstances should your child's data be used to train commercial AI systems. #### Only vetted tools are allowed Personal student information must never be entered into unapproved AI tools. The district should publish its list of approved tools. #### Teachers retain judgment Educators are the decision-makers. AI supports them, it does not replace professional judgment. #### High-stakes decisions stay human Discipline, special education, placement, counseling, and crisis response should be off-limits to AI. #### Vendor vetting is required Third-party AI tools must pass a documented privacy and security review before any school uses them with students. Behind the Classroom Door ## How Teachers and Support Staff Are Using AI Teachers, counselors, paraprofessionals, school psychologists, social workers, and administrators are using AI right now, to draft emails to families, write report card comments, plan lessons, prepare translations, summarize meetings, and more. Most of this happens with no policy and no disclosure to parents. Here's what a real staff AI policy looks like. ### What every district should have in writing #### A written staff AI policy Not a memo, not a slide deck, a public document that lists what teachers and support staff may and may not do with AI. Ask to see it. If your district can't produce one, that's your first ask. #### Disclosure when AI drafts a communication about your child If a report card comment, feedback note, IEP draft, behavior log, or email about your child was AI-drafted, you should be told. Disclosure is the difference between AI as a tool and AI as a ghost-writer for your kid's school record. #### Required training before use Especially before AI touches anything student-facing, translation, accommodations, feedback, data analysis. The district should be able to show you that training happened. #### A clear line between productivity and student-facing work AI summarizing a public PDF is different from AI writing feedback on your child's essay. Policy should distinguish the two, and require disclosure for any student-facing use. #### All staff covered, not just teachers The policy must apply to counselors, school psychologists, social workers, paraprofessionals, administrators, and aides, not just classroom teachers. These are the staff most likely to handle sensitive information. #### Accountability for AI outputs The educator remains fully responsible for anything they send, sign, or submit, even if AI drafted it. "The AI said so" is never an acceptable answer. #### A reporting channel for misuse If a staff member uses AI in a way that violates policy, like running an IEP draft through ChatGPT, there should be a complaint process. Families and staff both need a way to flag it. #### Annual public reporting Districts should publish what AI tools their staff use, what training has happened, and how many violations were reported. Sunlight is the cheapest accountability tool there is. ### Questions to ask your principal or district **Policy**Is there a written, public AI policy for staff? May I have a copy? **Disclosure**How are families notified when AI was used to draft a communication, report, or record about their child? **Training**What AI training has staff received, who delivered it, and how often is it refreshed? **Coverage**Does the policy apply to all staff, including counselors, support staff, and administrators? **Records**Is AI being used to draft anything that goes into my child's permanent record? **Special education**Has AI ever been used in drafting an IEP, 504 plan, or evaluation? (It should not be.) **Accountability**Who is responsible when an AI-drafted document about my child contains errors? **Reporting**How can I report a concern about AI misuse, and how is it investigated? EdTech and Your Data ## Consent Before AI Goes In Your Child's Backpack Many ed-tech apps and platforms now have AI built in, sometimes without parents being told, sometimes without the school fully knowing either. Your child's writing, voice, behavior data, and patterns of attention can flow to vendors and their AI systems. You have a right to know what's used, what it collects, where the data goes, and to say no. 1 ### Your right to know - **Which products are in use** in your child's classroom, including AI-embedded features. - **What data each product collects**: text, voice, video, behavior, biometric, location. - **Where the data is stored** and which country it leaves to, if any. - **Who can access it**: vendor staff, sub-processors, AI training pipelines, partners. - **How long it's retained** after your child leaves the school. - **Whether AI is used on it**: for analysis, personalization, or training. - **Whether your child's work** (essays, drawings, voice) becomes part of a product or model. 2 ### What schools must require of vendors - **A written data agreement**: covering use, retention, breach notification, deletion. - **No training on student data**, full stop, with contractual penalties. - **No sale or monetization** of student information, including aggregated data. - **Disclosed sub-processors**: every third party the vendor shares data with. - **Annual independent security audits**, with results shared with the district. - **FERPA and COPPA compliance**: and compliance with your state's student data privacy law. - **Breach notification within 24–72 hours** to the district and affected families. - **Deletion of all data on request**: and automatically when a student leaves. 3 ### What to demand of your school - **Active consent (opt-in)** before any AI-embedded ed-tech is used with your child, not just a buried disclosure in a back-to-school packet. - **A real opt-out** with no academic, social, or grading penalty for your child. - **An annual list** of every approved AI-embedded tool, sent to families in plain language. - **Re-consent when a tool changes**: adds AI features, changes data practices, switches vendors. - **A meaningful response** to your written questions about any tool, within a stated timeframe. - **A documented vetting process** with parent representation, not just a vendor checklist. ### Before you click "I agree," ask: **Use case**What educational problem does this tool solve that a non-AI tool wouldn't? **Data collected**What specific information about my child does this app collect? **Destination**Where does the data go after it leaves the school's network? **Training**Can the vendor use my child's data to train AI models, even "anonymized"? **Retention**How long is data kept after my child stops using the product? **Third parties**Who else gets access to this data, sub-processors, advertisers, researchers? **Deletion**How do I request deletion of my child's data, and how is it verified? **Opt-out**If I say no to this tool, what's the alternative for my child? Is it equivalent? **The federal floor, and why it's not enough.** FERPA protects student education records and COPPA protects children under 13 online. Both predate generative AI by decades. State-level student data privacy laws fill some gaps but vary wildly. Until federal law catches up, the strongest protection your child has is a written district policy with real consent and disclosure requirements, and a parent body that knows how to enforce it. Common Gaps ## What's Missing From Most School AI Policies Even the most progressive districts have left major gaps in their AI policies. These are the open questions you should be pushing on right now, click each to see what to advocate for. No rules on homework and student AI use Most policies tell teachers what they can and can't do, but say almost nothing about whether and how students can use AI for homework, assignments, or studying. They don't say whether students may use personal AI accounts alongside school-approved tools. **What to advocate for**Clear, age-appropriate guidelines for student use. A rule that every assignment specifies whether AI is permitted, prohibited, or encouraged, and what counts as academic dishonesty. No algorithmic bias review Approved AI tools usually go through privacy vetting, but most processes don't include a review for racial, gender, language, or disability bias. AI systems regularly produce worse outputs for students who aren't white, English-speaking, and non-disabled, exactly the students with the largest existing equity gaps. **What to advocate for**Independent bias audits for every approved tool, published publicly, with results stratified by student subgroup. Required re-audits when tools update. No parent notification or opt-out Most policies don't require schools to tell you when AI is being used with your child, what it's being used for, or which tools are involved. There's rarely an opt-out mechanism for families who don't want their child's work or data processed by AI. **What to advocate for**Annual written notice from every school listing AI tools in use. A real opt-out right that doesn't penalize your child. Clear disclosure when AI was used to draft any communication to your family. No independent oversight Districts usually vet their own tools. There is rarely an external body that reviews whether the red-light prohibitions are actually being followed, whether yellow-light human review is happening in practice, or whether any of this is improving, or harming, student outcomes. **What to advocate for**An independent advisory body with parent and student representation. Public annual reports on AI use, incidents, and outcomes. A complaint and enforcement mechanism families can actually use. No long-term learning impact study We do not yet know what regular AI use does to children's reading, writing, reasoning, or social development over years. Districts are moving forward without that data, and pediatricians and learning researchers are increasingly urging caution. **What to advocate for**A funded, independent longitudinal study of student outcomes. Pre-defined "off-ramps" that pause specific AI uses if harms emerge. Extra caution in early grades where foundational skills are still forming. No required AI literacy for kids If AI is now part of school, kids deserve to understand how it works, when it's wrong, and how their data flows. Most policies don't mandate AI literacy as part of the curriculum. **What to advocate for**Grade-appropriate AI literacy in every school: how AI generates text, how it makes mistakes, what data it collects, how to think critically about outputs and recognize when AI is being used on them. No teacher training requirement Yellow-light uses require "trained" educators, but most policies don't specify what training looks like, how often it has to happen, or what qualifies someone to review AI output for translation, special education adaptation, or data analysis. **What to advocate for**Mandatory, ongoing AI training for all educators using these tools. Specialized training for staff working with multilingual learners and students with IEPs. Public verification that training has occurred. No active consent for AI ed-tech Most schools roll out AI-embedded products without specific parent consent. Families typically learn about them when their child mentions a new app, not when the district vets and adopts one. The default should flip. **What to advocate for**Opt-in consent for every AI-embedded ed-tech product. Annual disclosure of every tool in use. Re-consent when a product adds AI features or changes data practices. Take Action ## Your Advocacy Toolkit Four ready-to-use tools for showing up to your PTA, school board, state department of education, or your federal reps prepared. **Read this guide end to end**Know what your child should be protected from, and where the gaps are. **Ask your principal for the written staff AI policy**If they don't have one, that's your first ask. Get it in writing. **Ask for a list of every AI tool in use at your child's school**Including AI features inside otherwise-familiar ed-tech apps. **Ask your teacher whether AI drafted any communication about your child**Reports, feedback, emails, behavior logs, you have a right to know. **Request opt-out for any AI-embedded ed-tech you don't consent to**Send the request in writing. Keep a copy. **Bring AI policy to your next PTA / PTO meeting**Ask for it as a standing agenda item until your district has a written policy. **Contact your local school board member**School boards set district policy. Ask them to pass a resolution on AI transparency and consent. **Ask if your school has a written process for "yellow light" uses**Translation, special-ed adaptation, data analysis, verify that human review really happens. **Find one other parent who cares about this**One letter is a complaint. Two letters is a meeting. Twenty is a policy change. **Ask how your school handles a red-light violation**What's the complaint process? Who investigates? What's the remedy? **Contact your state legislators**Most meaningful student data privacy laws are state-level. Ask where your state stands. **Talk to your child about AI**Ask what they're seeing in class. They often know more than the adults realize. Pick the concerns you want to raise. The letter updates live. Copy it and send to your principal, superintendent, school board, state legislator, or federal rep. #### Your details To From Your child's grade / school #### Concerns to include A written staff AI policy that I can read Disclosure when AI is used to draft anything about my child Opt-in consent before AI-embedded ed-tech is used with my child A clear accounting of what data each tool collects and where it goes A ban on student data being used to train AI models A real opt-out right with no penalty for my child Algorithmic bias audits before tools are approved Independent oversight and public reporting Clear rules on student AI use for homework Required AI literacy in the curriculum Verified training for staff before yellow-light AI uses Extra protection for multilingual learners and students with IEPs Bring these to your principal, your PTA, your school board, or your state and federal reps. Targeted questions force on-the-record answers. #### For your principal 1. Is there a written, public staff AI policy I can read? 2. Which AI tools, and which ed-tech apps with AI features, are currently in use at this school? 3. How are families notified when AI is used with their child or to draft a record about their child? 4. Who at this school is responsible for verifying the red-light prohibitions are being followed? 5. What training has staff received, and how do you verify it? 6. Can my child opt out of AI use without academic penalty? How? #### For your teacher 1. Do you use AI to draft any communication, feedback, or record about my child? 2. How do you handle student AI use on homework? 3. If you use AI to adapt materials or translations for my child, who reviews the output? 4. Have you been trained on the district's AI policy? When? 5. Are there AI features in the ed-tech apps my child uses in your class? #### For your school board 1. Has the district passed any resolution on AI in schools? 2. Does the district require opt-in consent for AI-embedded ed-tech? 3. Are AI use and incidents reported district-wide? 4. Is there an AI committee with parent and student representation? 5. What's the public process for adopting new AI tools? #### For your superintendent 1. Will the district require bias audits for approved AI tools? 2. Will families have a written opt-out right with no penalty? 3. What's the complaint and enforcement process for a red-light violation? 4. Is there a longitudinal study planned on student outcomes? 5. Who is on the AI advisory body, and are parents represented? #### For your state legislators 1. What student data privacy law applies in our state? 2. Does it specifically address AI training on student data? 3. What protections exist for student work product used by AI vendors? 4. Is there state-level oversight or just district self-regulation? #### For your federal reps 1. When will FERPA be updated to address generative AI? 2. What protections under COPPA apply to AI in schools today? 3. Will federal funding for ed-tech come with AI guardrails? 4. What is the Department of Education's current AI guidance? Pick the one that worries you most. We'll show you the strongest angle to advocate from. ### Data and consent Where my child's information goes and who profits from it. ### How teachers and staff use AI Disclosure, training, accountability for AI in school communications. ### Whether AI helps or hurts learning Long-term effects on reading, writing, and thinking. ### Fairness for vulnerable kids Bias, multilingual learners, students with IEPs and 504 plans. Where to Send It ## Get Your Voice Into the Policy **The window is open right now.** Most districts and states are still writing their AI rules, meaning right now is when the policies that will govern AI in your child's classroom for the next decade are being shaped. Parent voice is most powerful before policy is locked in, not after. 1 #### Your school's PTA / PTO Add AI policy to the next meeting. Pass a resolution. PTA letters carry weight because they represent organized parent voice, and your principal sees them. 2 #### Your local school board School boards set district policy. Look up your board's members and email them directly. Public comment at meetings goes into the record. 3 #### Your superintendent Superintendents implement what the board sets and shape what gets proposed. A clear written ask with named concerns gets a response. 4 #### Your state department of education Many states are drafting model AI guidance. State agencies set the floor that local districts can't go below, push them to set it high. 5 #### Your state legislators Student data privacy laws are mostly state-level. State legislators are where bias audit requirements, opt-in consent, and vendor accountability get codified. 6 #### Your members of Congress FERPA and COPPA, the federal floor, both need updates to address AI. Your senators and representative need to hear from constituents. 7 #### Join the National Parents Union NPU is the united, independent voice of modern American families, and the publisher of this guide. Become a member, plug into a local chapter, or partner with us. Together with trusted allies like the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy and Common Sense Media, we push for safe, transparent AI in every school. [Join NPU →](https://nationalparentsunion.org/) 8 #### Other parents One letter is a complaint. Twenty letters is a policy change. Forward this guide. Coordinate with at least one other family before your next board meeting. Our Kids. Our Voice. "Nothing About Us Without Us." The united, independent voice of modern American families, published as a parent-facing guide for advocating safe AI policies in K–12 schools. #### Federal data privacy - [U.S. Dept of Education, Student Privacy (FERPA)](https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/) - [FTC, COPPA (Children's Online Privacy)](https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/rules/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule-coppa) - [U.S. Dept of Education, AI in education](https://www.ed.gov/about/ed-initiatives/artificial-intelligence) #### NPU & trusted partners - [National Parents Union](https://nationalparentsunion.org/) - [Parent Coalition for Student Privacy](https://www.studentprivacymatters.org/) - [Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/) © National Parents Union · Published as a parent advocacy resource. Always verify current local AI policy directly with your district before acting. [nationalparentsunion.org](https://nationalparentsunion.org/) ## The data behind this guide National Parents Union / Echelon Insights survey of 1,511 parents of K-12 public school students. Fielded February 12 to 18, 2026. Margin of error ±2.6 percentage points. Full topline: https://nationalparentsunion.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/National-Parents-Union-February-2026-Survey-Topline.pdf - 56% of parents say their child uses generative AI chatbots (33% no, 11% unsure). - 37% say their child's school provided information about its AI policies this school year; 47% say it has not; 15% are unsure. - 30% say their child's school asked parents for input on AI tools; 57% say it has not; 13% are unsure. - 79% want to be involved in decisions about AI at their child's school (40% want in and feel informed enough; 39% want in but need more information); 16% would rather leave it to the school. - 67% say more needs to be done to inform parents how their kids' data may be used, and 67% say more needs to be done to give parents a say in what data is collected. - 65% say more needs to be done to protect the privacy of students' personal data. - 86% say AI chatbots should be legally required to show minors pop-up warnings before content on sensitive topics such as violence, self-harm or abuse; 85% say chatbots should be required to alert a minor's parents about potentially harmful or illegal behavior; 84% say parents should be able to limit the topics a chatbot discusses with their child; 79% say minors should need parent permission to use a chatbot. As of October 2026, parents have downloaded this guide more than 10,000 times. ## Letter builder: the paragraphs parents can include - I would like to see the school's written policy on how teachers, support staff, counselors, and administrators are permitted to use AI in their work. If no written policy exists, I am asking that one be developed and made public to families. - I'm requesting that families be notified whenever AI is used to draft communications, feedback, behavior records, or any document about a child. Disclosure is what separates AI as a tool from AI as an undisclosed ghost-writer in my child's school record. - Before any AI-embedded ed-tech tool is used with my child, I expect to be asked for opt-in consent, not a buried line in a back-to-school packet. Active consent means I see the product, understand what it does, and choose to allow it. - For every AI tool or AI-embedded ed-tech product used with my child, I want clear written answers to: what data it collects, where the data is stored, who can access it, how long it is kept, whether it is shared with third parties, and whether it is used to train AI models. - I am requesting an explicit, contractual ban on my child's data being used to train AI models, including 'anonymized' data, by any vendor the district approves. - I want a real opt-out right for my child that carries no academic, social, or grading penalty. If a tool is optional for the school, it must be optional for the family. - Before any AI tool is approved for student use, I expect it to undergo an independent bias audit, particularly for race, language background, and disability status, with results made publicly available and re-audits required when tools update. - I want to see independent oversight of AI use in our schools: a body with parent and student representation, annual public reports on AI use and incidents, and a real complaint and enforcement process. - Please clarify expectations for student AI use on homework and assignments. Each teacher should specify whether AI is allowed, required, or prohibited, and what counts as academic dishonesty. - If AI is now part of school, students deserve to understand it. I'm asking the school to commit to age-appropriate AI literacy: how it works, when it's wrong, what data it collects, and how to recognize when AI is being used on them. - The framework permits 'yellow-light' uses only with trained adult oversight. I would like documentation that every staff member using these tools, especially for translation, special education adaptations, feedback, and data analysis, has completed verified training, and that this training is refreshed regularly. - I am particularly concerned about AI use with multilingual learners and students with IEPs or 504 plans. These are the students with the highest stakes and the largest existing equity gaps. I expect additional safeguards for them and AI should never be used in drafting an IEP, 504 plan, or evaluation. ## Find your priority: what to push for ### Your priority: data and consent - Push for opt-in consent before any AI-embedded ed-tech is used with your child, not just passive notification. - Demand a written, plain-language list of every AI tool in use, what data each collects, and where the data goes. - Require a contractual ban on student data being used to train AI models, including 'anonymized' data. - Ask your school board for a public vetting process for AI vendors, with parent representation. - Contact your state legislators, most meaningful student data privacy law is state-level. ### Your priority: how teachers and staff use AI - Ask for the written staff AI policy. If there isn't one, that's your first ask. - Demand disclosure whenever AI is used to draft a communication, record, feedback, or report about your child. - Push for required, verified training before any staff member uses AI on student-facing work. - Insist that the policy covers all staff, counselors, support staff, paraprofessionals, administrators, not just teachers. - Ask for a real reporting and enforcement process for AI misuse. ### Your priority: real learning outcomes - There is no required long-term study of AI's effects on learning anywhere in the country. Push for one in your district or state. - Ask for caution in early grades while foundational skills are still developing. - Push for clear homework rules: each assignment should specify whether AI is allowed. - Support grade-appropriate AI literacy so kids understand the tools, and recognize when AI is being used on them. - Ask for pre-defined 'off-ramps' that pause specific AI uses if harms emerge. ### Your priority: fairness for the kids who need it most - Yellow-light uses (translation, IEP adaptations, data analysis) hit multilingual learners and disabled students hardest. Demand verified human review. - Push for independent bias audits stratified by race, language, and disability status, and require re-audits when tools update. - Make sure your school board and any special-education or ELL parent council have AI on their agendas. - AI must never write IEPs, 504 plans, or evaluations. If you hear that it did, that's a formal complaint worth filing. - Push for accommodations to be designed by humans, and only adapted by AI with full educator review.