By Dr. Jennifer Schmerling, EdD · SERA Consulting · November, 2026
What Google just announced, and why it matters
The significant decision about whether your child uses AI for schoolwork has just shifted from the tech company to your child’s school. Last week, Google announced that its AI tools will be switched off by default for K–12 student accounts. These are tools that include Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom, and AI features in Google Search will stay off until a school administrator deliberately turns them on.
Google paired this decision with an expansion of Guided Learning, a mode that scaffolds and coaches students through a problem with questions and step-by-step prompts rather than simply providing the answer. This tool is currently available through Google Classroom and has plans to expand into the Search feature at select U.S. schools later this month. Google describes this approach as "productive struggle," aiming to push students intellectually without overwhelming them.
For families choosing, or already in, a Maryland independent school, this announcement makes each school's AI philosophy something worth asking about directly.
Media coverage: widespread approval for defaults, paired with notable concerns
News outlets welcomed the new default but zeroed in on one catch: a school that keeps Google's AI off also loses Google Search for student accounts. Google claims search and AI are now too intertwined to separate, so there is no AI-free version of Search on offer today.
Historical context was a major factor in driving such a strong media reaction. In August, Google switched its Gemini chatbot on for many K–12 students in Google Classroom; until then, Gemini had been available only to students 18 and older.
Criticism emerged from across the educational landscape, with teachers, child advocates, antitrust voices, and competitors all weighing in on the announcement. Google insists that the change in decision gives schools "more choice, not less." Each service can be enabled on its own, so a school can turn Search on while keeping the Gemini chatbot off. According to New York Times reporting, schools will get two Search options in early 2027: one with AI Overviews, and one with Guided Learning in their place.
What this means for Maryland independent schools
Maryland's public districts now have a state rulebook for AI; independent schools largely write their own. The Artificial Intelligence Ready Schools Act took effect June 1, 2026, and required every local school system to have an AI policy in place this fall. The state guidance behind it is written for K–12 public schools (MSDE).
Independent and non-public schools set their own course, traditionally developed through the head of school, the school’s board, and the technology department. So when Google's new defaults arrive, no district or county makes the call. Each school decides for itself whether to switch Gemini, Gemini Notebook and Search back on for students.
That independence cuts both ways. Here is what I expect families to see over the next year:
More variety from school to school. Some schools will stay AI-free, some will adopt AI with guardrails, and many will land in between. Two schools a few miles apart could make opposite choices.
A harder call for smaller schools. The Search tradeoff is a real technical decision, and a school with a one- or two-person tech office has less capacity to weigh the alternatives.
Mission will drive the answer. A school's philosophy, whether faith-based, progressive, Montessori or college-preparatory, will shape its choice more than any outside mandate.
Home is a separate question. Google's new controls cover school-managed student accounts, not personal ones. A school's off switch does not reach your child's personal account or the family laptop.
There is also real opportunity here. Small classes and teacher autonomy are exactly what responsible AI use requires. Maryland's public-school framework calls for redesigning assessments around reasoning and process rather than relying on AI-detection tools (MSDE), and independent schools can pivot faster than large districts to embrace oral explanations, in-class writing, and teacher-guided AI practice.
Students with learning differences: real promise, real risk
For students who learn differently, the question is not whether AI is on or off, but whether it is scaffolding learning or hiding a gap. This is the part of Google's announcement I find most interesting as a learning specialist and because so much of my work is with neurodiverse and twice-exceptional students.
The promise is genuine. A coaching tool that breaks a long assignment into steps, rephrases a confusing concept or prompts a student to explain their thinking looks a lot like good scaffolding. For a student with ADHD or executive-function challenges, that kind of structure can be the difference between starting and stalling.
However, the risk is real as well. A tool that quietly smooths over a weakness can make a child look fine on homework while they struggle on in-class work or an admissions test like the ISEE. The productive struggle Google describes is often exactly where a skilled teacher spots a reading or processing issue, and I worry about what we stop seeing. There are several principles that should remain on the forefront while families of students with learning needs ponder the AI question. First, is AI replacing structured literacy rather than supporting it? Explicit, systematic reading instruction, such as Orton-Gillingham, Wilson or UFLI, depends on a trained person responding to a child in real time. Second, are we confusing accessibility tools with generative AI? Text-to-speech and speech-to-text support access; however, a chatbot that drafts or solves assignments for the student changes the task itself. Lastly, how does AI fit into your child’s formal learning plan? If your child has accommodations, ask the school how AI tools fit into them, rather than leaving it to each teacher.
Questions to ask on tours and in admissions conversations
With open houses and applications for fall 2027 underway, AI belongs on your list of questions alongside class size and college counseling. A thoughtful school will welcome these questions, and how they answer tells you a lot.
What platform do students use, and what will you turn on? Is it Google Workspace for Education, Microsoft, or something else? If Google, does the school plan to enable Gemini, Gemini Notebook, and Search for students?
Do you have a written AI policy? Who wrote it, when was it last updated, and how is it shared with families?
How does AI use change by grade? Expectations for a second grader and an 11th grader should look very different.
How have assignments and assessments changed? Look for in-class writing, oral explanations and work that shows process, not just a final product.
How do you teach AI literacy? Students should learn how these tools work, where they make mistakes, and how to protect their privacy.
If Search is off, how will students learn to research? Ask about the library, databases, and teaching students to evaluate sources.
How are teachers trained and supported? A policy is only as good as the people carrying it out.
How does AI fit into learning support? For students with accommodations, ask who decides which tools are appropriate.
How do you partner with families on home use? The school's settings stop at the school account.
The bottom line, and how SERA can help
Google's change does not settle the AI question; it hands it to your child's school. For families navigating Maryland’s independent schools, understanding each institution’s specific stance is now a critical part of the admissions conversation. Independent schools answer to their families and boards, so your questions carry real weight.
My own view after decades in independent schools is that AI is neither the enemy of learning nor a shortcut to it. What matters is whether a skilled adult is shaping how a child uses it, and whether the struggle that builds real skill is still there.
If you are weighing schools this season, or wondering how AI fits your child's learning profile, I would be glad to help. SERA works with Baltimore-area families on school search and placement, ISEE preparation and academic support, including research into how each school approaches technology and learning support.
