Google Expands Classroom AI Tool Amid Student Backlash Over Academic Decline

Google rolled out unrestricted access to its Gemini AI chatbot across all K-12 schools in August 2026, only to face immediate pushback from educators, parents, and policymakers citing plummeting test scores and student dependency. The company made Gemini—previously restricted to students 18 and older—available to roughly 150 million students and teachers globally through Google Classroom, enabling students to generate homework answers, create study materials, and produce images within their school accounts.