Education
How schools and universities use Microsoft technology: Copilot for staff, age-gated Copilot Chat for students 13 and older, agent building in class, and campus operations data, under FERPA and the EU AI Act rules for education.
The problem
School districts face budget pressure and teacher workload at once. Broward County Public Schools in Florida faced a shortfall above 90 million dollars, partly tied to declining enrollment, and wanted to find operational inefficiencies across its campuses.
Universities face questions of fair access. The University of Manchester chose to give Microsoft 365 Copilot access and training in responsible use to about 65,000 students and staff, delivered with the Students' Union, trade unions and staff networks rather than to a selected few.
Student data is protected by law, and age matters. In the US, FERPA protects education records and applies to virtually all public K-12 districts and most post-secondary institutions, and Microsoft's student AI offers are limited to learners aged 13 and older.123
The approach
Microsoft for Education lists Microsoft 365 Education, Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio, Teams for Education, Microsoft Fabric, Power Platform, Azure and Microsoft Foundry among its offerings. Education is not one of the Microsoft Industry Solutions on Learn; the offer combines general products with education licensing. Microsoft announced Copilot Chat for students aged 13 and older in May 2025, with administrators taking extra steps to enable access.
Broward deployed 20,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses across educators and staff, gives students Copilot Chat, and has students in Nova High School's AI Academy build agents in Copilot Studio; teachers report reclaiming six to seven hours a week, a self-reported figure. With partner Willow it built a digital twin of its campuses, which Microsoft says projects facilities savings of 40 to 50 million dollars over five years. Manchester reports that in its 2024 to 2025 pilot, 90 percent of licensed users adopted the tool within 30 days.
Many institutions can begin with what they already license: Copilot Chat for eligible users, the learning and accessibility tools in Microsoft 365 Education, and existing learning platforms. Paid Copilot licenses are easiest to justify for staff with heavy administrative and drafting work.12456
Conceptual architecture
Diagram as a list
Copilot & business apps
- Copilot Chat for students aged 13 and olderSupervised AI assistance for learners
- Microsoft 365 Copilot for teachers and staffLesson planning and administrative drafting
Agents & automation
- Student and staff agents built in Copilot StudioClassroom projects and simple service agents
Data & analytics
- Student information and learning systemsEnrollment, grades and courseworkConnects to Student and staff identities with accurate age attributes
- Campus operations data and digital twin (partner solution)Finds facility and energy inefficiencies
Security, identity & governance
- Student and staff identities with accurate age attributesDecides who may use which AI tool
Technologies and their roles
Microsoft 365 Copilot1
Assistant for teachers and staff
Broward deployed 20,000 licenses and Manchester extended access to its whole community of about 65,000 (the app is now named Microsoft Copilot).
Microsoft Copilot Chat6
Entry-level AI for students
Microsoft offers Copilot Chat to students aged 13 and older, with administrators enabling access.
Microsoft Copilot Studio1
Agent building in class
Students in Nova High School's AI Academy in Broward build custom agents with Copilot Studio.
Microsoft Teams4
Virtual classrooms
Teams for Education is listed among Microsoft's education offerings.
What you need first2
- Accurate age data on student accounts before enabling any student AI access
- Parental consent processes where the law requires them
- Training in responsible AI use for staff and students
- Agreement with unions and student bodies on rollout and expectations
- An assessment policy that says when AI use is allowed
Risks and how to reduce them
- FERPA obligations stay with the institution3
- FERPA recognizes no certification, so each institution must assess its own use; Microsoft agrees in its Data Protection Addendum to act as a school official for in-scope services.
- High-risk AI in education under the EU AI Act7
- AI that affects access to education or scores exams is listed as high-risk, with Annex III obligations from 2 December 2027; keep grading decisions with teachers.
- Age and consent3
- Student offers start at age 13, and Microsoft's terms make customers responsible for obtaining any parental consent; check account ages before enabling access.
- Projected savings presented as results1
- Broward's facilities savings are projections and teacher time is self-reported; set your own measures before scaling.
Documented examples
The University of Manchester
ScalingThe University of Manchester: Copilot for all 65,000 students and staff
90% within 30 days (measured)
Education, United Kingdom
Broward County Public Schools (BCPS)
In productionBroward County Public Schools: districtwide Microsoft 365 Copilot
6 to 7 hours per week (measured)
Education, United States (Broward County, Florida)
Related
Sources
- Customer story: Broward County Public Schools (Microsoft 365 Copilot) (opens in a new tab)
- World-first AI partnership between The University of Manchester and Microsoft announced (opens in a new tab)
- Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) - Microsoft Compliance (opens in a new tab)
- Education Technology Solutions with AI | Microsoft for Education (opens in a new tab)
- Microsoft industry documentation and resources (opens in a new tab)
- Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot for students aged 13 and older (Microsoft Education Blog, 12 May 2025) (opens in a new tab)
- AI Act: regulatory framework for AI (opens in a new tab)
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