Below is a How To Refuse GenAI guide that Illinois Families for Public Schools created for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) families. But we think much of the information here will be relevant and helpful for families outside Chicago as well, including the list of products in use in CPS.

There is more background info on genAI use in CPS here. Unlike in NYC and Los Angeles, there has not been any moratorium placed on genAI products and models in Chicago.

For additional resources on refusing ed tech, we recommend Emily Cherkin‘s work, Screens Beyond Schools, and Fairplay’s Screen Time Action Network. Reach out if you have questions or need advice: info@studentprivacymatters.org. 

Why and how Chicago Public Schools families can protect children from Big Tech’s experimental data grab

[Download this document to print here]

What is genAI? Many digital products, sites, software and apps, including those used for educational purposes, now incorporate algorithms derived from or “trained on” statistical patterns extracted from very large datasets. This technology is commonly referred to as artificial intelligence (AI). Some AI products, known as generative AI (genAI), use statistical patterns as the basis for software programs that can generate text, including computer code, as well as audio, images and video. GenAI is an experimental technology, which has only been commercially available since 2022.

Why should families be wary of genAI use in schools? 

• There is growing evidence that genAI use harms student learning.
• It also poses major risks to the environment, to the mental health of children and adults and to the security of computer systems.
• And genAI companies profit unethically and possibly illegally from the input datasets that their products’ trained on, the bulk of which is made up of the work of creative artists of all kinds. Other genAI training data sources include information generated by product users, and in the case of ed tech, that means data from children and young people in schools.

What do vendors claim these products can do? Software incorporating genAI includes products marketed as able to generate college recommendation letters in seconds, tutor children in K-3 in reading, monitor how often students are using the bathroom, detect “drops in Wellness Level,” surveill classrooms for teacher evaluation, and more.

Do any public schools prohibit genAI use? Both of the country’s largest public school districts, New York City and Los Angeles, recently placed a moratorium on genAI use. Based on an extensive investigation, the Brookings Institute has concluded that “at this point in its trajectory, the risks of utilizing genAI in children’s education overshadow its benefits.” And earlier this year more than 260 organizations and experts issued a statement calling for “a five-year pause on genAI products for students in preK-12 schools.”

Do privacy laws protect students’ data from being used as input for genAI models? No. Unfortunately, state and federal laws have limited protections for student data, with many loopholes allowing tech companies to profit from data they collect when students and school employees use their products. For example, Illinois’ Student Online Personal Protection Act (SOPPA) only protects students’ identifiable data from being exploited by companies training their statistical models for genAI products. However, it is nearly impossible to anonymize personal data, so this is a dangerous exception.

What can families do? First, contact your school board member and ask them for a moratorium like NYC and LA. In the meantime, you can refuse genAI products for your child. Note that Chicago Public Schools’ AI Guidebook supports this, stating “[p]arents and guardians can choose for their child not to use specific GenAI tools“ (p. 19) so that “your child’s educational experience aligns with your family’s values and preferences.“(p. 25) See below for a sample letter to use to notify your school of your refusal.

What products in CPS utilize genAI? We aren’t sure! We have compiled a partial list of products and vendors in use in CPS that may be utilizing genAI (see below.) However, the information CPS provides about the hundreds of tech products approved for use is incomplete, with some products not listed, and others missing contracts or information about what data is being shared. Also, the district’s database does not necessarily tell you whether a product includes genAI, and some companies have embedded genAI functions that aren’t described in their contracts or on their websites.

How do I find out what genAI products my child uses or are used to process my child’s data? Ask your child’s school. Under Illinois state law, you have the right to inspect and correct any of your child’s personal information held by your child’s school or their vendors. So, your school must be able to provide you with a list of all products that school employees use to collect, process or share data about your child or that your child uses directly

What about biometric information? Some AI and genAI products process biometric information. Biometric information is the most sensitive type of personal data because it is irreplaceable if exposed or stolen. It includes things like fingerprints and retina scans. The Illinois School Code (105 ILCS 5/34-18.34) says schools must get prior written consent from parents if students’ biometric information is collected or processed. Note that biometric information may only be used in schools for identification or fraud prevention, not simply for instructional purposes.

Some products in use in CPS, including Amira, Lexia English and Connect to Literacy, record and use students’ speech. Voice recordings can be transformed into voiceprints, which are biometric information according to the IL School Code. And the FTC has said that voice recordings themselves are biometric information.

What other concerns might parents have about tech use in school? GenAI technology is the newest push from Big Tech in our schools. But it is a continuation of issues we were already seeing: overuse of digital devices, inappropriate data collection, surveillance of students and staff, commercial companies shaping curriculum and instruction, and tech used as a substitute for skilled professional educators who build relationships with students as a crucial part of teaching them.

Where can I find out more about these issues? This reading list on AI in schools is a great place to start. Organizations like Fight for the Future, Schools Beyond Screens, the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy, the AI Moratorium Coalition for NYC Schools and Distraction-Free Schools also have many helpful resources. IL-FPS released a Pledge to Protect Human Centered Education in August with a list of references on these issues. More questions? Reach out info@ilfps.org or 773-916-7794

SAMPLE REFUSAL LETTER

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Products we’ve flagged for genAI

Under SOPPA, vendors must enter a written agreement with public school districts in Illinois before they can collect and process student data. That agreement must be posted on the district website, and it must include certain information, like subcontractors that the vendor is sharing student data with and a list of data elements that the vendor is collecting.  (It is important to note that SOPPA applies to both for-profit and non-profit vendors, and it applies whether or not students use the product directly.)

You can find CPS’ database of district-approved products, which they provide to comply with SOPPA’s requirements here.

This database is not complete (i.e. it violates SOPPA’s requirements!) At a minimum it is missing several sites and products that are widely used in CPS, including Aspen, the district’s student information system; Khan Academy; collegeboard.org; and my.ACT.org. In addition, the majority of vendors are listed without an accompanying data-sharing agreement, and many data-sharing agreements do not provide full information about what data elements are being shared with whom.

(You can also see CPS’ list of pre-qualified ed tech vendors for 2026 here; pre-qualified vendors must then enter into an agreement with the district. Some contracts with vendors can also be found on the CPS Department of Procurement website’s Contracts Awarded page, but as of September 20, 2026, that page is down.)

Adobe Creative Cloud Express	Includes GenAI functions for generating text and images, known as “Adobe Firefly”; these features are turned on by default. No data sharing agreement posted in the CPS database for this or any other Adobe products, nor is there any information about what features are permitted within CPS.
Amira Learning	Uses genAI and speech recognition to process students’ voice data. There is no mention in the CPS data sharing agreement of biometric information collection or artificial intelligence usage. New York City’s public schools included Amira in the genAI product ban. New Mexico Public Education Department now allows school districts to opt out of using Amira for assessment after parents have raised concerns about its use in New York City and New Mexico. According to their website, Amira uses Anthropic’s Claude platform.
Branching Minds	Used districtwide for tracking multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), a system of monitoring students esp. those with behavioral or academic challenges. Includes data like social-emotional assessment results and information on preK students and students in temporary living situations. Uses genAI. No agreement posted in the CPS database.
Brisk	Shares data with Anthropic, OpenAI and GPTZero AI detector. GenAI interface for students (Brisk Boost) and teachers (Brisk Teaching). Listed on district genAI Pilots website.
Carnegie Learning	MATHia is Carnegie Learning’s “intelligent” tutoring system for math. It uses machine learning (statistical algorithms), but it is not clear from the vendor’s website whether it incorporates an genAI or LLM technology to generate text for written feedback for students at this point. A paper from researchers at the company discuss this as something in the works currently as of July 2025. The data sharing agreement links to a list of subprocessors, but there is no explicit information about known genAI products listed here although AWS does include the ability to create genAI tools. CPS is also using MATHia Mathstream, gamified math videos, from Carnegie Learning.
Class Companion	Interface that uses genAI for grading student work. Not approved CPS software, but possibly being used in CPS schools. Shares data with OpenAI.
DooWii	Shares data with Google for genAI, as well as Anthropic and OpenAI. According to data-sharing agreement, DooWii is a “K-12 conversational analytics platform that unifies data from existing CPS systems (Aspen, Skyline, Google Classroom, ERP , GoCPS, etc) and lets educators, staff, and leadership explore data in natural language for role-based insights to support teaching, learning, and district-wide decisions” and includes an optional “Predictive Modeling Add-On… [for machine learning]-powered forecasts (e.g., risk, outcomes, engagement patterns).”
Edpuzzle	No data sharing agreement on CPS site, but according to vendor website, it shares data with OpenAI “for certain AI-enabled functionalities of the Edpuzzle Teacher Assist service”
EPS	EPS’ Reading Assistant uses AI, including voice recordings according to p. 265 of the data sharing agreement (linked underneath the Wordly Wise entry in the CPS database), which also says that the application shares data with Amira Learning (p. 266). The agreement describes Reading Assistant as “an AI-powered reading tutor that listens to students as they read aloud, providing real-time feedback and personalized tutoring.”
Gemini by Google	Listed on the approved product page, but the data sharing agreement is from 2020, predating the effective date of the major amendment to SOPPA and the existence of Gemini and Notebook as Google products. Also listed as an approved generative AI product in the CPS AI Guidebook, but only for people older than age 18. (Note: This product was previously named “NotebookLM”.) Essentially no information in the posted agreement about what data Google is collecting and processing, nor what additional parties they may be sharing it with. According to an earlier version of the CPS-approved software database, teachers were permitted to input student data into Gemini. According to a district IT Department document, a “broader rollout” of Gemini to all high school students was cancelled at the start of the 2026-2027 school year, but “the district has shifted to a future-readiness model, working directly with individual schools on potential rollouts tailored to their specific needs.”
Gemini Notebook	Listed on the approved product page, but the data sharing agreement is from 2020, predating the effective date of the major amendment to SOPPA and the existence of Gemini and Notebook as Google products. Also listed as an approved generative AI product in the CPS AI Guidebook, but only for people older than age 18. (Note: This product was previously named “NotebookLM”.) Essentially no information in the posted agreement about what data Google is collecting and processing, nor what additional parties they may be sharing it with.
HMH	The HMH data sharing agreement, which applies to more than 40 products, states that HMH shares information at least 23 subcontractors, including Amira Learning (see above), Eloqua (possibly an Oracle product for marketing which utilizes genAI). HMH products Writable and Waggle both use AI according to the HMH website, but no information on what this entails is included in the HMH Data Sharing Agreement. The HMH website says they have an “arrangement” with OpenAI.
Imagine Language and Literacy	The data sharing agreement with Imagine Learning includes nine different products and lists 29 subcontractors, including Microsoft Azure OpenAI. It is unclear what “student-generated work” is being shared with OpenAI (p.33).
Kami	No data sharing documents, but their privacy policy says they are sharing data with Google Gemini. Kami Coach, a new product, appears to be a genAI-based tutoring interface. Other Kami products may be recording students’ voices.
Khanmigo	Khan Academy is in the district’s pre-qualified ed tech vendor list, but is not listed in the approved software list, nor is its AI tool, Khanmigo.
Lexia	Uses AI and, for Lexia English, speech recognition according to the vendor website, but there are no details about this in the data sharing agreement, other than indicating that “student generated content” is collected.
MagicSchool	In the CPS approved list, but no data sharing agreement posted. According to the vendor website, it shares student and employee data with more than two dozen subprocessors, including, for genAI functions, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Adobe, Amazon OpenAI.
Magma Math	Shares students’ classwork with OpenAI and/or Google (likely Gemini) for genAI processing. Based on the vendor website, it appears that the product records and processes a student’s handwritten input on a tablet.
Microsoft CoPilot	Appears in the district’s approved software database but with no data sharing agreement available. It is also listed as an approved generative AI product in the CPS AI Guidebook. According to an earlier version of the CPS-approved software database, teachers were permitted to input student data into CoPilot.
NewsELA	NewsELA has multiple products, but there is no contract on the CPS website to indicate which are in use in the district. The vendor’s privacy policy says that NewsELA is sharing personal information with OpenAI, Google and Anthropic to “develop AI-powered applications.” It also says that “To the extent a student engages with any AI Tools through the Services, this includes disclosing Student Data to our AI Vendors that enable such AI Tools, in accordance with our contractual terms with such AI Vendors and our Terms of Use.”
Otus	Approved, but lists no data sharing agreement and no information about the generative AI functions in the tool. The company has an AI Tool Terms of Use page which instructs users to not enter personally-identifying information into the application, even though the purpose of the software is to process and generate content that contains PII. The Otus website includes a blog post about using one of Otus’ assessments on Anthropic’s AI chatbot/agent Claude.
Parlay	Data sharing agreement is posted, but their privacy policy includes a much longer list of third-parties whom they share with including OpenAI. The Parlay Ideas Genie function is integrated with OpenAI’s ChatGPT product. Parlay is listed in the CPS’ Instructional GenAI Playbook as one of several “Active Generative AI Pilots.”
Playlab	The CPS data sharing agreement with Playlab says that it results in custom AI-tools for classroom and administrative use and mentions that it integrates “multiple AI models”. However, neither the agreement nor any links on the Playlab website provide any information about subprocessors or subcontractors that Playlab is sharing student data with.
Quill	Quill has no data sharing agreement listed in the CPS database, but its entry listing says: “By using Quill, teachers are able to implement research-based expository writing instruction in their classrooms. Quill strives to improve outcomes for every single student who does not have consistent access to the finest writing instruction. By automatically grading the writing as they work, students are able to receive instant feedback and personalized instruction. This tailored experience enables students to learn faster, and it saves teachers hundreds of hours spent on grading. Quill currently provides four writing tools that enable students to build writing, grammar, and proofreading skills.” Note that CPS’s own guidance for instructional staff says, in contradiction to this: “Feedback generated by AI should always be checked and supplemented with educator input to maintain the importance of a human-centered educational experience that is built on the relationship between teacher and student.”
SchooLinks	District’s primary college-and-career software, but no contract is listed in the approved software database, which says that it uses AI. Here is SchooLinks’ own description of how AI, including generative AI, is embedded in its functions for staff and students. SchooLinks provides an LLM for school employees to write recommendation letters: “Generates a first draft from the student profile and brag sheet data. Staff reviews before sending. — Draft in seconds — not 45 minutes — Grounded in verified student record data — Staff edits and approves before send.”
Securly	Securly is software for surveilling students online, filtering school network internet access, hallway pass tracking, school-issued device management and school scheduling. Several Securly applications, including its online surveillance product, Aware, disclose data to OpenAI. In total, Securly applications share data with almost three dozen other subcontractors.
Sibme	Teacher evaluation and coaching software that uses genAI and recordings and also includes an application for genAI lesson plan writing. The vendor website describes processing video and audio recording of classrooms with “optional” biometric information. The data sharing agreementsays only that “student work” is shared with OpenAI, but provides no information about video and audio recordings or biometric information collection.
Snorkl	According to their privacy policy, Snorkl shares student data, including voice recording and typed and handwritten text, with Anthropic and OpenAI.
Summit K12	Summit K12’s Connect to Literacy ELD appliction is for English-language learners to prepare them for federally-required assessments. The product assesses both spoken and written language, and from the vendor website, it is capturing and processing students’ voice data. The data sharing agreement only says student-generated data is being shared with AWS (Amazon Web Services), with no details on whether biometric information is being processed nor any information on training of generativeAI models. Their website says that their “Large Language Model AI [was] trained and calibrated using tens of millions of K-12 MLL student responses collected over the past 6 years.”
Summit Learning	Product that provides online, digital instruction in core classes, which is associated with the Summit Public Schools charter chain. CPS provides no data sharing agreement, and the vendor website’s privacy policy has no information about what data is being collected or shared. It appears that genAI may be incorporated into the Summit Learning platform, and Summit employees have described Summit as an “AI native school model,”
Thinkcerca	Provides generative AI feedback for students on their writing as well as plagiarism detection, but CPS data sharing agreement lists no subprocessors or details about generative AI models. Their website terms of service and privacy policy has no info on third-party subprocessors either.