Meta last year launched a school partnership program for Instagram, prioritizing student reports of cyberbullying. The company has now expanded the program to allow schools to post stories and notes that only their own students can view – alongside support for clubs, teams, and more. Instagram’s track record with teenage mental health is poor; internal research showed Instagram could be harmful to as many as 20% of teenage girls.

Cyberbullying is another significant problem. When schools signed up, Meta promised prioritized review of reports filed by students and staff. Schools receive status updates and notifications when action is taken.

New features include Channels for school administrators to share updates; School Stories and notes visible only to verified students; Clubs and Teams as central hubs; and a Student directory visible only to students and teen followers. School administrators can remove posts. Verification of high school students is carried out by UNi DAYS, the same company Apple uses for educational pricing.

Meta says features are intended for use outside classroom hours, and teen accounts allow parents to block usage during school hours.