Short answer: NO
Except: Netflix Original documentaries that have a GRANT OF PERMISSION FOR EDUCATIONAL SCREENINGS. This is not available for all Netflix Originals and/or Documentaries. (see below).
Long answer: The Netflix End User License Agreement or Terms of Use, which you agreed to when you created an account, specifies that the account is "only for your personal, non-commercial use." Netflix is not alone here; Amazon Prime, Hulu, and other personal streaming vendors do not grant rights for institutional or educational use.
This is important because licenses overrule copyright exemptions. Showing your personal DVD during class is covered by a specific copyright exemption (Section 110), and showing clips can be covered by fair use (Section 107). However, streaming videos from personal subscription vendors in your classroom when the license prohibits such viewings? There is no copyright exemption for that and the situation is problematic.
This is why the library offers to obtain streaming videos through institutional subscription vendors like Alexander Street Press, Swank, Films on Demand, Docuseek2, or Ambrose Digital Video.
Some Netflix Original educational documentaries are available for one-time educational screenings.
To find out which titles are available for educational screenings, visit media.netflix.com (link above) and search for the title or browse our recent and upcoming releases. Below, there is an incomplete list of documentaries that are covered by this educational screenings permission. Titles that are available for educational screening will display the following grant of permission on their details page:
GRANT OF PERMISSION FOR EDUCATIONAL SCREENINGS - taken from Netflix's website
Netflix is proud to present original documentaries that speak to our users in a meaningful way. We know that many of you are as excited about these titles as we are; and because of their informational aspects, you’d like to show them in an educational setting -- e.g., in the classroom, at the next meeting of your community group, with your book club, etc.
Consequently, we will permit one-time educational screenings - "one-time screening" means that you can't hold screenings several times in one day or one week, but if, for example, you're an educator who wants to show the titles once a semester over multiple semesters, that's okay.
Educational screenings are permitted for any of the documentaries noted with this information, on the following terms:
As of 12/20/2023 the following titles are available for a one-time educational screening. You must have a personal Netflix account in order to show these titles in the classroom during a face-to-face traditional setting. Always double-check the details page for each title, before showing, to ensure that the Grant of Permission is still applicable.
Tabitha Ochtera MLIS, Serials & Media Librarian, originally created 2018