The National AI Safety & Privacy Standard that Microsoft developed with the American Federation of Teachers and the United Federation of Teachers took effect on November 1. Announced on September 9, the 31-page standard is not a law: any US school district can add it to a new or existing Microsoft agreement without renegotiating the whole contract, and once added its terms are binding contract language rather than a vendor promise on a webpage.

The substance is specific. Student and educator data may not be used to train AI models, sold, or used for advertising; AI companion features designed to foster emotional attachment or keep students engaged past the learning task are banned; consequential decisions require human oversight; providers must explain their products in plain language, report breaches within 72 hours, and submit to third-party audits. Districts that adopt the standard gain contractual remedies, including termination and damages.

So far it binds one company. The agreement is structured as a memorandum between Microsoft and the AFT-affiliated National Academy for AI Instruction, with signature slots left open for other providers, and the teachers' unions say OpenAI and Anthropic have expressed willingness to sign. It says nothing about whether classrooms should use AI at all — the UFT's president has said AI use in grades K-8 is not appropriate right now — only the terms for districts that do.