Hi Tess,
For reference, linked here is a copy of the Core Google Workspace Service as described in the Services Summary incorporated into the services agreement that CT districts have with Google Workspace for Education. Neither Google Lens nor YouTube is listed in the Services Summary as a Core Service. Districts were informed earlier in 2024 that Google has a new policy that starting March 2025, users under 18 won’t be able to access Additional Google services as listed in the Google Admin Console that don’t have parental consent confirmed. In order to comply with this new Google policy, districts are turning off access for students to any Google product that is not covered in the Services Summary
As a teacher, it is frustrating to lose access to tools that you use with students. While a workaround for YouTube is to embed a YouTube video that you want to share with students into a Google Slide, I am not familiar with a replacement Google Lens-like tool that does not require a student to login. But if there is another Google-Lens-like tool available that is compliant with CT State Student Data Privacy laws, I'm confident that someone on the CASL-listserv knows about it.
Best,
Katrina
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