Microsoft has agreed to a set of safety and privacy principles governing the use of AI in schools, a week after two major school systems announced a ban on student-facing artificial intelligence tools.
The commitment forms part of a new agreement with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the second-largest teachers union in the United States, and its New York City affiliate, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT). Under the arrangement, Microsoft committed to ten principles that can be contractually enforced by school districts that choose to adopt them.
What the Agreement Covers
The terms include a pledge not to train AI models on student or educator data. This addresses one of the central concerns among educators about how information gathered in classrooms might be used to develop commercial products.
The company also agreed to limit the amount of data it collects in the first place, reducing the volume of personal information moving through its systems. In addition, Microsoft committed to disclosing to families how its tools work in plain language, an effort aimed at improving transparency for parents and guardians.
Enforcement and Adoption
A defining feature of the agreement is that the ten principles are designed to be contractually enforced. School districts that adopt the terms can hold Microsoft to the commitments through their contracts, giving the principles practical weight rather than leaving them as voluntary guidelines.
The timing of the agreement is notable. It arrived a week after two major school systems announced restrictions on student-facing AI, reflecting growing scrutiny of how such technology is deployed in educational settings and how student data is handled.
The involvement of the AFT and UFT signals that teachers unions are taking an active role in shaping the terms under which AI enters classrooms. As the second-largest teachers union in the country, the AFT represents a significant constituency of educators whose input carries influence over technology procurement decisions across numerous districts.
Through the agreement, Microsoft has set out ten privacy principles that districts can incorporate into their contracts when deploying its AI tools.
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