Microsoft's National AI Safety & Privacy Standard for schools: controls over student data

The announcement comes a week after New York City announced a one-year moratorium on AI in public schools, and was made near where city and state leaders first announced that ban. The standard is a direct response to calls from more than 250 child-safety experts and groups for an AI moratorium in schools back in April.

The agreement is contract-based rather than legislative, a route union leaders chose because existing federal laws like HIPAA, FERPA, and COPPA predate generative AI and don't address model training. Weingarten noted that no federal or state government has "stepped up to do the real work," framing the union's deal as filling that gap.

The broader significance may hinge on whether OpenAI and Anthropic follow Microsoft's lead. Weingarten said both companies have "expressed willingness" to sign similar agreements, and she is hopeful they will sign soon, but neither responded to requests for comment. If they do, the standard could become a template across the AI education market.