OpenAI sells three education offerings: ChatGPT Edu for universities, announced May 30, 2024; a study mode inside ChatGPT, launched July 29, 2025; and ChatGPT for Teachers, free through June 2028 for verified K-12 educators in the United States. Only the first two are open to most Canadian schools, because the teacher plan is limited to accredited American schools and districts. Student data protection rests on OpenAI's stated terms and on privacy law, and on May 6, 2026 Canadian privacy regulators concluded that the early training of ChatGPT did not comply with Canadian privacy law.
Key takeaways
- ChatGPT Edu is sold to institutions, and OpenAI states that its conversations and data are not used to train OpenAI models.
- ChatGPT for Teachers requires an accredited U.S. K-12 employer and is not available to students.
- OpenAI's terms set a minimum age of 13 and require parent or guardian permission under 18.
- Study mode is built from custom instructions, and OpenAI says it can behave inconsistently and make mistakes.
- A joint Canadian privacy investigation closed on May 6, 2026 with OpenAI's commitments to limit personal data in training.
The three education products, side by side
The names are easy to confuse, and each one has a different buyer, a different audience, and a different data arrangement. The table lists what OpenAI itself says on its announcement and help pages, checked in October 2026.
| Offering | Who it is for | Date and availability | Data statement from OpenAI |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Edu | Universities: students, faculty, researchers, campus operations | Announced May 30, 2024; contract through OpenAI's sales team | Conversations and data are not used to train OpenAI models |
| Study mode | Learners using ChatGPT, built with college students in mind | Launched July 29, 2025 for logged-in users on the Free, Plus, Pro, and Team plans; Edu to follow | Governed by the plan the user is on |
| ChatGPT for Teachers | Teachers, staff, and administrators at accredited U.S. K-12 schools and districts | Announced November 19, 2025; free through June 2028; not for students | Not used to train models by default; automated systems may classify content for safety and quality |
A vendor statement is not an audit. A school or university still needs the contract, the data processing terms, and its own privacy review before relying on any of these lines.
What study mode does and what OpenAI admits about it
Study mode changes how ChatGPT answers. Instead of handing over a solution, it asks guiding questions, gives hints, breaks material into sections, and offers quizzes. The behavior comes from custom system instructions written with teachers, scientists, and pedagogy experts, according to OpenAI's launch post.
The same post is direct about limits. Because the feature rests on instructions rather than on a separately trained model, OpenAI says it may produce inconsistent behavior and mistakes across conversations. It also says it plans to train the behavior into its main models later. A student can switch the mode off during a conversation, so it guides only as long as the student keeps it on. Whether it improves learning is a question for independent studies, and the launch post does not report one.
Who can use ChatGPT for Teachers, and who cannot
Eligibility for the teacher plan is narrow. According to OpenAI's help article, a person must work for an accredited U.S. K-12 school or district and hold a role as teacher, staff member, school leader, or district administrator. Verification runs through a third-party service, SheerID, and workspaces cannot mix educators from different districts. The plan is not for students, and the help article says student accounts may come later.
Two points follow for Canadian readers. A Canadian classroom teacher does not meet the stated U.S. eligibility rule. And K-12 education in Canada is a provincial responsibility, so decisions about classroom AI tools sit with provinces, school boards, and teachers. British Columbia's education ministry, for one, states on its AI in education page (last updated July 18, 2024) that choices about AI use in the classroom are ultimately made by teachers based on student needs.
Age rules and student accounts
OpenAI's Terms of Use, effective January 1, 2026, set a minimum age of 13 or the minimum age required in the user's country. Anyone under 18 must have a parent's or legal guardian's permission. A school that asks students to use the consumer product therefore faces a consent question that the institutional products are meant to handle through the school's contract. Where a school directs a young student to a general-purpose account, the consent and data questions fall back on the school.
What Canadian regulators found about ChatGPT
On May 6, 2026, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada announced the outcome of a joint investigation with the privacy regulators of Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta. The regulators examined how OpenAI collected, used, and disclosed personal information to build ChatGPT. They raised concerns about collecting more personal information than necessary, consent and transparency, factual inaccuracies about individuals, people's ability to access, correct, and delete their information, and accountability. They concluded that the initial training did not comply with their respective laws; each office applied its own legislation.
OpenAI has limited the personal and sensitive information used to train new models and agreed to inform Canadians better about what using ChatGPT means. On that basis, the federal Commissioner found the complaint well founded and "conditionally resolved" under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, and his office will monitor compliance. The federal statement does not mention schools or children, so it settles nothing about classroom use. It does show that a product's data practices can change over time, which is a reason to put key commitments into a written agreement.
A checklist before adopting any AI product in a class
- Which contract and which plan apply to the accounts students or teachers will use?
- Is the user's age at or above the product's minimum, and who gives consent for minors?
- Does the written agreement say whether prompts, files, and outputs are used for model training?
- Where is the data stored, how long is it kept, and how can a family request deletion?
- Has the board's privacy office completed an assessment under the provincial or state law that applies?
- Who checks AI output for errors before it reaches a grade, a report card, or a student file?
This article gives general information, not legal advice. Privacy duties depend on the province or state, the type of school, and the contract, and a school's privacy officer or counsel decides how they apply.
FAQ
Is ChatGPT Edu the same as the free ChatGPT?
No. ChatGPT Edu is an institutional offering with administrative controls, higher message limits, and a stated commitment that conversations and data are not used to train OpenAI models. The free ChatGPT is a consumer service governed by the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Can a Canadian teacher sign up for ChatGPT for Teachers?
Not under the published rules. OpenAI's help article limits eligibility to staff of accredited U.S. K-12 schools and districts. Canadian schools can ask OpenAI about other arrangements through its sales team.
Can a 12-year-old use ChatGPT at school?
OpenAI's terms set the minimum age at 13 or the minimum age required in the user's country, whichever is higher. Younger children are outside the consumer terms, so a school would need a different, documented arrangement.
Did Canadian regulators ban ChatGPT?
No. The May 6, 2026 findings concerned OpenAI's early training and data practices. The federal complaint was resolved on conditions, and the Commissioner's office will keep monitoring OpenAI's compliance.
Related reading
- Advantages and disadvantages of AI in schools
- AI tools for students with disabilities
- How education regulation shapes classrooms
- AI learning apps for students
More in AI in education.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Statement and news release on the joint investigation of OpenAI's ChatGPT, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, May 6, 2026
- Introducing ChatGPT Edu, OpenAI, May 30, 2024
- Introducing study mode, OpenAI, July 29, 2025
- A free version of ChatGPT built for teachers, OpenAI, November 19, 2025
- ChatGPT for Teachers, OpenAI Help Center, 2026
- Terms of Use, OpenAI, effective January 1, 2026
- Digital literacy and the use of AI in education: supports for British Columbia schools, Government of British Columbia, July 18, 2024