As of 2025, YouTube is not included in the "Core Services" covered by Google Workspace for Education due to new data privacy rules, which has resulted in stricter access for K-12 students.
Key facts about the changes to YouTube in education for 2025:
- Privacy compliance: SMSD has restricted student access to "Additional Google Services"—including YouTube, Google Earth, and Google Translate—to comply with stricter student data privacy laws.
- Parental consent required: Parental or guardian consent is now required for students under 18 to use YouTube and other non-Core services. Since SMSD has not obtained parental consent, this feature is no longer available to students
- Access for students vs. teachers:
- Students: Direct student access to YouTube will be blocked on school-issued devices or school networks. This means students cannot browse YouTube or follow direct links to videos. Students will continue to have access to Google Core Services (e.g., Docs, Slides, Sheets, Classroom, and Forms) for collaboration and learning. However, Google Additional Services, including YouTube, Google Earth, and Google Maps will be restricted to ensure compliance with privacy laws.
- Some of these services will still work when embedded into Google Core Services, for example:
- Teachers can embed YouTube videos in Google Classroom, Canvas and Slides.
- While the website will be blocked, Translate features still work in Chrome and Docs.
- Some of these services will still work when embedded into Google Core Services, for example:
- Teachers: Teachers will still be able use YouTube for instructional purposes, with no restrictions to accessing the website. Teachers can continue to find and embed educational videos into Core Services like Google Classroom and Google Slides, which are still accessible to students. Google Earth and Maps can still be used by teachers to display information to students.
- Students: Direct student access to YouTube will be blocked on school-issued devices or school networks. This means students cannot browse YouTube or follow direct links to videos. Students will continue to have access to Google Core Services (e.g., Docs, Slides, Sheets, Classroom, and Forms) for collaboration and learning. However, Google Additional Services, including YouTube, Google Earth, and Google Maps will be restricted to ensure compliance with privacy laws.
- Focus on Core Services: Google Workspace for Education continues to offer robust, FERPA-compliant "Core Services" such as Gmail, Classroom, Docs, Drive, and Slides for educational use.
In Conclusion:
These changes only apply to student accounts. Teachers and Staff members will retain access to Google Additional Services for professional use.
Note: Embedding videos in Canvas does not seem to work with the new restrictions. An alternative would be embedding the video in a Google Slide and then having that as part of Canvas.