Instagram is expanding its School Partnership Program to give participating schools and their verified students more ways to communicate and build school communities on the platform.

In this collaboration, partner schools received priority treatment for reports submitted by their students, with Meta saying those reports would be moved higher in its moderation queue and receive a response within 48 hours.

The program is now expanding beyond moderation support. Participating schools can create dedicated clubs and teams, publish updates through Stories and Notes, and establish Channels for broader school communication.

What Is Instagram’s School Partnership Program?

The Instagram School Partnership Program is a program that connects participating schools with Instagram to provide additional tools and support for their school communities.

Meta launched it in 2025. It was initially focused on helping schools respond to bullying and harassment reports.

When Meta introduced the program, one of its main purposes was to give students at partner schools a more direct way to report bullying and harassment. Reports from participating schools receive priority in Instagram’s moderation process.

Meta said it would respond to these reports within 48 hours.

The expanded program adds community features that allow schools to use Instagram for more than individual student interactions. Schools can now organize clubs and teams and use dedicated communication tools to share information about activities and upcoming events.

Instagram Adds Clubs and Teams For Partner Schools

One of the biggest changes is the ability for partner schools to create clubs and teams on Instagram.

These spaces can serve as centralized hubs for communicating information related to school organizations, sports teams, and other activities.

For example, a football team can use its school’s Instagram community to announce tryouts. Rather than relying on individual posts or messages, the team can share an update through Stories that is accessible to its verified school community.

The feature could also make it easier for students to find information about activities they are interested in joining.

School administrators and club or team administrators can manage these spaces and publish content intended for the school’s verified student community.

How Instagram Stories and Notes Work for Schools

Partner school administrators can use Instagram Stories and Notes to communicate with verified students.

A club or team administrator can publish a Story about an upcoming event, while the administrator responsible for the school’s overall partnership can also post updates.

These features are limited to verified students within the participating school community. This gives school-related updates a more restricted audience than ordinary public Instagram content.

What’s more, it also allows school organizations to use familiar Instagram tools without requiring students to move to a separate communication platform.

For students, this means announcements about tryouts, activities, and other school events can appear alongside the Instagram content they already use.

Schools Can Create Instagram Channels for Broader Updates

Another new feature is the ability for school administrators to create Instagram Channels.

Unlike Stories and Notes that are limited to verified students, these Channels can be used for updates intended for a wider school community. The audience can include students as well as parents and teachers.

This makes Channels particularly useful for important announcements that need to reach multiple groups connected to a school.

The feature gives administrators another way to distribute information without relying solely on individual posts or direct messages.

Who Can Access Instagram’s School Features?

Access to the new school features is tied to student verification.

According to Engadget, Instagram has partnered with UNiDAYS, a third-party service, to verify a student’s identity before the student can join their school’s Instagram community.

Once verified, students can access features connected to their school.

The verification requirement is an important part of the program because it helps distinguish members of a school community from ordinary Instagram users. It also allows certain school-specific features to remain within the intended student audience.

The supplied information does not specify every requirement involved in the verification process, so students may need to follow Instagram and UNiDAYS instructions when joining a participating school community.

Instagram School Directory Lets Students Find Verified Peers

Verified students will also gain access to a school directory containing their verified peers.

The directory provides a way for students to identify other members of the same school community on Instagram.

Students can also add a school banner to their Instagram profile. According to Meta, the banner is visible only to other students and teens they follow back.

This creates a more recognizable school connection within the platform without necessarily making that information visible to everyone who visits a student’s profile.

The combination of verification, directories, and school banners gives participating students a more defined digital connection to their school.

Why Meta Is Expanding the School Partnership Program

The original program centered heavily on student safety, bullying, harassment, and moderation. The latest features add tools for communication and organization.

Clubs and teams can use Instagram to share activity information. School administrators can use Stories and Notes for student updates. Channels can provide a communication point for students, parents, and teachers.

Instead of treating school-related activity as a collection of individual accounts and posts, the expanded program creates a more organized structure around participating schools.

At the same time, access controls remain an important part of the system. Verified students are the only users who can see school Stories and Notes, while broader school communications can use Channels.

What Students Can Expect From the New Instagram School Features

For students at participating schools, the changes could make Instagram more useful for keeping track of school activities.

For instance, a student interested in chess may be able to find information about team tryouts through a school-connected Story. Other clubs can similarly use their dedicated spaces to communicate with members.

The school directory can also help verified students identify their peers on the platform.

Meanwhile, the school banner provides another way to show a connection to the student’s school within Instagram’s existing profile system.

These tools are being introduced as part of the School Partnership Program rather than as general features available to every Instagram user.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Instagram’s School Partnership Program?

The Instagram School Partnership Program is a program for participating schools that provides additional tools and support for their communities. It initially prioritized bullying and harassment reports from verified students and has since expanded to include school communication and community features.

What new features are Instagram schools getting?

Partner schools can create clubs and teams, while administrators can publish Stories and Notes. Schools can also create Channels for updates that may reach students, parents, and teachers.

How does Instagram verify students?

Instagram has partnered with UNiDAYS, a third-party service, to verify students before they can join their school’s Instagram community.

Can students see other students from their school?

Verified students can access a school directory listing other verified peers. They can also add a school banner to their Instagram profile that has limited visibility.

Can parents and teachers access school Instagram Channels?

The supplied information states that school administrators can create Channels for a community that can include students, parents, and teachers. It does not specify additional eligibility or verification requirements for every Channel.