Carlsbad-area school districts face a looming decision: accept Google's artificial intelligence tools in the classroom or lose student access to the company's search engine.

Google announced Nov. 3 that it will switch off four services for K-12 student accounts by default in early 2027. Those services are Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search. School administrators who want any of them back must explicitly turn them on, according to NBC 7.

The catch: districts cannot fully separate Google Search from the company's AI features. Schools can disable Gemini and Gemini Notebook while keeping Search, but AI Mode and AI Overview remain built into the search engine, Times of San Diego reported. A district that wants zero generative AI in front of students cannot reach that goal through Google's controls alone.

That leaves districts with a narrow set of options: opt in and accept some AI integration, or drop Google Search for students entirely.

San Diego County districts weigh in

NBC 7 reported that San Marcos Unified School District, which serves parts of Carlsbad, acknowledged the upcoming changes and said it would continue monitoring the situation. The district did not specify whether it would opt in to Google's AI features.

Nearby Oceanside Unified plans to keep using Google Search, NBC 7 reported. That district has taken a gradual approach, expanding AI access as students get older.

San Diego Unified has been more restrictive. Nicole DeWitt, the district's deputy superintendent of instruction, said students cannot access generative AI tools on district-issued devices. In a statement, San Diego Unified said it is "still evaluating the effects of Google's new policy."

No public statement from Carlsbad Unified School District addressing the Google policy change has appeared as of Nov. 10.

What Google says

Chris Phillips, Google's vice president and general manager of education, said during a virtual briefing that schools uncomfortable with AI "have the choice to not have Search on at all," according to Times of San Diego. Phillips told The Verge that "Search and AI are deeply integrated," according to a Shattered analysis of the policy.

Google framed the move as giving schools control. In a post on X, the company said it was responding to educator feedback: "We know there's concern about students using AI to shortcut schoolwork, and schools have told us they want control."

The company also announced a "Guided Learning" feature for Search that walks students through problems step by step instead of providing direct answers, according to a Google blog post.

Critics push back

Not everyone sees the policy as a choice. Lila Byock, founder of parent advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens, called Google's decision an act of "bullying" in a statement reported by Times of San Diego.

Rory Mir, director of community tech engagement at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a digital rights nonprofit, said switching away from Google is harder for school districts than for individuals. "There's a lot of training that goes into making sure educators know how to use these different tools, and the switch comes with real monetary costs as well as labor costs and disruption," Mir said, according to Times of San Diego.

In a series of 180 tests, Common Sense Media researchers found that Google's AI Mode completed students' homework assignments every time, Times of San Diego reported. The AI feature also invented fake answers and cited unreliable sources.

Google's policy gives districts roughly two months to prepare, NBC 7 reported. Parents can ask their district which of the four services will be turned on and which search option students will get.