Fairfax County, Virginia, is rolling out a new tool that will block students’ access to artificial intelligence-generated answers and summaries when they conduct a Google search on school-issued laptops.

Virginia’s largest school district said its filtering policies already block student access to generative AI software, such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, but Google’s current administrator controls “do not provide the district with a path to disable AI Overviews in Google Search through its administrative settings.”

So, in a statement, the division said its Department of Information Technology built what’s being called the FCPS Customizer. The Google Chrome extension hides Google’s generative AI overviews, search summaries and image searching features on school-issued Chromebooks.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the division’s approach to hiding the AI-generated content.

“The tool ensures that students engage directly with primary source materials and develop critical research skills,” the district told WTOP in a statement.

The county’s Chrome extension is being rolled out at 11 elementary and middle schools, with a focus on getting feedback from teachers and other school staff.

Full implementation across all elementary and middle schools is ongoing and is expected to be finished by November.

The school system said its IT department is already getting positive feedback from teachers.

Last summer, Fairfax County’s school board banned generative AI use for elementary school students.

Teachers in the county, meanwhile, have had access to a ChatGPT for Teachers tool as part of a pilot program.

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