Instagram announced updates to its School Partnerships program on Tuesday, including expanded school information hubs and new student contributions.
Launched in March 2025, Instagram’s school partnerships program provides a way for educators to report potential safety issues directly to Instagram.
Through this system, Instagram prioritizes safety reports from approved contributors, facilitating a more streamlined reporting path for those who have direct contact with young users.
Instagram said it has partnered with nearly 17,000 schools on the project, and based on feedback from initial participants, the platform is now adding more elements to help raise awareness.
First, Instagram is launching new in-app hubs for school-related accounts in order to help broaden message reach.
As explained by Instagram: “This will make it easier for schools to reach students, and for students to stay safe and informed on Instagram.”
Instagram said that schools participating in the program will now get access to channels and School Stories and Notes, along with prioritized reporting and additional resources to support educators, parents, guardians and students.
Instagram is also rolling out verified students, which will give approved student contributors access to similar connection and alert features to help draw increased attention to potential concerns.
The app also launched student banners and directories designed to facilitate connection between classmates.
“Students can see a directory of other students at their school, or make a school banner,” Instagram said. “This is only visible to other students and teen followers they follow back.”
Platform owner Meta has partnered with Unidays to verify high school students before they can join their official school communities, ensuring that these groups remain safe for users.
It’s interesting to see Instagram implementing more student safety elements even as it continues to battle allegations that it’s bad for teens.
Indeed, Instagram is facing teen usage restrictions in many regions, amid broader concerns that the app, along with other social media platforms, is driving negative impacts among young audiences.
Maybe, through improved protection measures like this, Meta can help to negate these concerns and provide more assurance for parents.
