Choosing an access mode for your school

Three paths, three levels of commitment

There is no single “ChatGPT for my middle school” button. French schools have three distinct paths, each involving different people and data responsibilities: the teacher’s personal account, used solely by the teacher; classroom use without student accounts, for students in 8th grade (4e) and up; and a paid institutional workspace. You can combine the first two starting tomorrow. The third requires a decision from administration and a signed contract.

Path 1: The teacher’s account

This is the simplest path and, for most use cases, the only one you need: preparing a lesson, differentiating an exercise, drafting a letter, or projecting a demonstration. Three settings make it safe.

The first concerns model training. On a personal Free, Plus, or Pro space, sharing conversations to improve models is enabled by default. In Settings, under the Data controls section, turn off “Improve the model for everyone.” The second separates uses: OpenAI recommends a personal account for private life and a separate account, using your work email, for professional tasks. The third organizes your work: create one project per class or grade level to gather files, instructions, and conversations. You can limit memory to the project scope, a choice made at creation. Custom Instructions, found in personalization settings, let you define your subject, grade levels, and requirements once and for all. The limit is 1,500 characters on Free and Go plans, and 5,000 on other tiers.

For exchanges you do not want to keep, Temporary Chat stays out of your history and is not used to improve models while active. OpenAI may retain a copy for up to 30 days for security reasons. One rule applies to everything else: never include student personal data, such as names, identifiable work, or health and family information.

Path 2: In class, without student accounts

Starting in 8th grade (4e), students can use ChatGPT in class. The CNIL (France’s data protection authority) recommends using a tool that does not require individual accounts whenever possible, as this avoids processing personal data. ChatGPT fits this need: it works without an account in supported countries, including Europe. Only one conversation is possible at a time, nothing is saved beyond the browser session, and the training setting can be disabled in settings, a choice retained for that browser.

Four obligations remain. First, age: students must be at least 13. You must verify this for every student, since some 8th graders are still 12. Second, parental consent: OpenAI’s terms require parental authorization for any minor user, and the CNIL requires informing students and parents whenever their data is processed. A written note returned with a signature satisfies both. Third, supervision: the CNIL reminds us that these exchanges are not private, the tool can make mistakes, and students must not enter any personal information. Finally, the device: use a school-owned device containing no personal data. Test access beforehand, as OpenAI warns that account-free usage may vary by location or network, and a login prompt may appear.

Path 3: An institutional workspace

A managed space—ChatGPT Edu via quote, or ChatGPT Business subscribed online starting at two seats—changes the nature of the project: the school becomes the data controller. The CNIL outlines the consequences: registration in the record of processing activities, a data protection impact assessment if necessary, consultation with governing bodies (such as the board of directors or pedagogical council in secondary schools), and support from the Data Protection Officer. The contract matters too: on these plans, OpenAI does not train its models on workspace data. A Data Processing Addendum complements the contract, and eligible new Enterprise or Edu customers can choose European data storage and inference.

In exchange, the admin console gives you control: login with the school account, enable applications case by case, view usage statistics, and, on Edu and Enterprise, synchronize directories and set permissions role by role—covering models, memory, link sharing, and projects. For minor students, keep the CNIL’s position on individual accounts in mind: this path is primarily suitable for staff and adult students in post-secondary programs within high schools.

Before the first session, run a full test

Before letting students access anything, run the session exactly as they will experience it: on a classroom computer, using the school network, without an account, and with model training disabled. Paste the prompt from a graded exercise and see what the tool does with it—this is what the first impatient student will do. Note any blockers—network filtering, login prompts, off-topic responses—and fix them the day before, not in front of thirty students.

Your turn

Choose your access path.

1. For each planned use case, note who holds the keyboard: you, or students in 8th grade and up
2. Match each use case to one of the three paths
3. Configure your account: disable training, create one project per class, set Custom Instructions
4. Test the chosen path on a classroom computer using the school network
5. Draft the information and authorization note for families

Official sources: Data controls in ChatGPT · The ChatGPT home page · Temporary chat in ChatGPT · Projects in ChatGPT · ChatGPT Custom Instructions · ChatGPT Business overview · Managing workspace settings in ChatGPT Enterprise · Data residency and inference residency for ChatGPT (OpenAI Help Center) · Europe Terms of Use · Data Processing Addendum (OpenAI) · Enseignant : comment utiliser un système d’IA dans le cadre de vos missions ? · Responsable de traitement : comment mettre en place des systèmes d’IA dans l’éducation ? (CNIL)

Key takeaways

• Three paths: the teacher’s account, classroom use without accounts, and the institutional workspace
• On a personal account, disable model training and organize your classes into projects
• Without an account, ChatGPT works in Europe, but minimum age and parental consent still apply
• An institutional workspace makes administration the data controller
• Test the session on a classroom computer using the school network before involving students