Los Angeles Schools Slam the Brakes on Student AI

Los Angeles Schools Slam the Brakes on Student AI
Los Angeles Unified School District moved on Wednesday to sharply restrict students’ use of generative artificial intelligence at every grade level, placing the nation’s second-largest school system at the center of an escalating education-tech backlash.

The one-year policy follows an earlier decision to bar cellphone use during the school day and to strictly limit students’ daily laptop time. District officials are responding to what the report described as an “extraordinary movement” among parents pushing back against the spread of screens and technology in childhood.

The new limits will apply during the current school year while a school board committee considers whether the technology can eventually be incorporated into classrooms. The restriction is broad: students may still encounter AI-generated summaries atop Google searches, but they will not be able to interact with Google’s Gemini chatbot there.

Nor will students be able to use Google’s chatbot helpers in Classroom tools such as Docs, Sheets and Slides — a consequential constraint in a platform used by schools across the United States.

Los Angeles’ action came shortly after New York City, the country’s largest school system, said it would prohibit most student-facing AI through eighth grade. The two systems differ in scope — New York’s policy focuses on younger pupils, while Los Angeles reaches high school students too — but share the same immediate instinct: slow the rollout before AI becomes an unquestioned fixture of schoolwork.

[1] Los Angeles District Bans Most A.I. for Students — The district will restrict generative AI at all grade levels for the current school year while officials weigh possible future classroom use.

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