Gemini arrives through school, which makes families assume the rules are handled. They are not — the school governs the account, not what happens at the kitchen table at 10pm. Copy this agreement, fill the blanks, and have everyone sign it.
The agreement
1. The right account. Schoolwork happens on the school Google account, not a personal Gmail. The protections the school negotiated only apply to the school account.
2. Where. Homework in shared family spaces, not behind a closed bedroom door.
3. When. Between ____ and ____ on school nights.
4. What it is for. Explaining things we do not understand, practice questions, feedback on work we already did, outlining before we write.
5. What it is not for. Writing anything we hand in as our own, answering graded work, or summarising a book we were told to read.
6. Privacy. We never type our full name, address, phone number, passwords, or personal details about classmates and teachers.
7. Verification. Every fact gets checked in a real source before we use it. We cite the source, never the chatbot.
8. Honesty. If we used AI on school work, we say so.
9. Feelings. If a conversation turns to something upsetting, we stop and tell an adult. It is not a counsellor.
10. Talking. We talk about what Gemini has been used for every ____ weeks, with no punishment for anything shared in the first conversation.
11. If a rule breaks. We discuss what happened before anything is removed. Hiding a mistake is treated more seriously than making one.
What the adults check
- Which account the student is signed in to for schoolwork.
- Whether the school has enabled Gemini for their year group — ask the school; parents cannot change this.
- What the school's disclosure rule is for AI-assisted work, per subject.
- That the student knows the difference between the school account and a personal Google account at home.
What parents cannot control here
Unlike a consumer app, there is no family dashboard: Gemini availability, data settings, and under-18 guardrails on a school account sit with the district administrator. Your leverage is the conversation and the household rules — which is why writing them down matters more, not less.
Reviewing the agreement
Revisit each term. Rules that fit a 12-year-old insult a 17-year-old, and rules that stop fitting stop being followed.
Related: Gemini age guide · Gemini for homework · Gemini parent guide
Frequently asked questions
Can parents turn Gemini off for their child?+
Not on a school account. Access is controlled by the district's Workspace administrator per organisational unit, so the request goes to the school.
Should schoolwork be done on the school account or a personal one?+
The school account. Google's education data protections apply to Workspace for Education accounts, not to a personal Google account.
How often should we review the family agreement?+
Once a term, and any time the school changes its AI policy or the student changes year group.
Sources & verification
Verified against primary sourcesLast checked August 24, 2026- 1.Gemini in Google Workspace for Education (opens in a new tab) — Google
- 2.Turn Gemini on or off for users (opens in a new tab) — Google Workspace Admin Help
- 3.Google Workspace for Education Privacy Notice (opens in a new tab) — Google
Vendor policies change frequently. Links point to the vendor's own documentation so you can confirm the current wording before making a family or district decision.
Recommended next steps
For parents
Start with the Free 30-Minute Family AI Safety Course
Learn the essential steps every parent should know to make safer, more confident decisions about the AI tools their children use, including Gemini for Education. Free course includes the Family AI Safety Starter Pack.
Want the deep dive? Get the Complete AI Safety Blueprint — $29
For schools
Govern AI tools district-wide with School Pro
Unlimited full evaluations plus the K-12 workspace — tool registry, approval workflow, monitoring, and a downloadable audit log.
