We are writing about a critical update to Google Workspace for Education. According to Google's Terms of Service, Groton-Dunstable Regional School District (GDRSD) must obtain parental consent before enabling access to Additional Google Services for users under 18.
Starting on March 31, 2025, students under 18 cannot access certain Additional Google Services, such as YouTube, Google Earth, and Google Maps, without parental consent. To comply with this requirement, GDRSD must annually review and reconfirm parental consent to ensure continued access to these services.
Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, we will include parental consent for Google's Additional Services in the school handbook acknowledgment process. This will allow the district to obtain blanket consent, enabling us to activate services deemed appropriate for our digital learning environment without needing individual app approvals throughout the year.
We’re giving you advance notice of this change for the current school year. To comply with Google’s Terms of Service, we will require your consent when you log into the SchoolBrains Community Portal. Please log in and consent to Google Additional Services as soon as possible, but no later than March 31, 2025. If you have multiple children, you can provide consent for the entire family. Below is a screen capture of the consent form within the SchoolBrains Community Portal dashboard.
If you have any issues logging into the SchoolBrains Community Portal, please contact Data Administrator Phyllis Maynard at pmaynard@gdrsd.org. If you have any further questions on this process, don't hesitate to contact the Director of Technology & Digital Learning, Luke Callahan, Ed.D., at lcallahan@gdrsd.org.
Thank you for your attention and continued support in fostering a dynamic and secure digital learning environment for our students!