Fairfax County Public Schools built its own Chrome extension to strip AI-generated summaries from Google searches on student laptops, but the district has not said whether any Vienna-area schools are among the first to get it.
The tool, called FCPS Customizer, hides Google's AI Overviews, search summaries and image-search features on school-issued Chromebooks. FCPS's Department of Information Technology built it in-house after Google's administrator controls offered no way to turn off the AI summaries, the district said in a statement reported by InsideNova on Thursday, Oct. 8.
The extension is live at 11 elementary and middle schools. The district said teachers have responded positively so far. Full rollout to all FCPS elementary and middle schools is expected by November.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the district's workaround. FCPS already blocks standalone AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini on school devices, but Google bakes its AI Overviews directly into search results. The district said Google's settings did not give it a way to disable them.
The district has not published the list of 11 pilot schools, so families at James Madison High School, Oakton High School and Thoreau Middle School feeder schools cannot yet confirm whether their buildings are included.
Builds on July AI restrictions
The new extension follows a broader crackdown the Fairfax County School Board approved at its July 16 meeting. That vote prohibited elementary students from using generative AI tools on district-issued devices and restricted secondary students from using them without written authorization from a principal, the superintendent or a designee, according to Patch. The board also pulled laptops and tablets from pre-K and kindergarten classrooms, with exceptions for students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), Section 504 plans or multilingual education needs.
Mount Vernon District representative Mateo Dunne, who introduced the original motion, said at the board's July 16 meeting that students "should not be an ungoverned test case while we try to figure out what is already in their hands," FFXnow reported.
FCPS also launched quarterly digital literacy lessons this school year, including new AI literacy units. Chief Academic Officer Sloan Presidio told board members at an Aug. 18 work session that the lessons will teach students to evaluate information, recognize AI-generated content and protect their privacy online, FFXnow reported.
Meanwhile, FCPS teachers have access to a ChatGPT for Teachers pilot program launched in partnership with OpenAI.
Superintendent Michelle Reid is due to deliver a comprehensive inventory of generative AI tools on district-issued devices to the board by Jan. 14, 2027.
