The Los Angeles public school system will vastly restrict the use of artificial intelligence at all grade levels, district officials said Wednesday at a board of education meeting.

The move came shortly after the nation’s largest school system, in New York City, announced it would ban most AI through 8th grade. Both developments seem to respond to an extraordinary movement, driven by parents, to push back against the incursion of technology and screens into childhood.

The board of education in the Los Angeles Unified School District previously barred cellphone use during the school day and strictly limited the hours per day students could spend on laptops.

The new AI restrictions, reported earlier by the Los Angeles Times, will apply for the current school year as a board committee considers how to potentially incorporate the technology in the future, according to a district spokesperson.

Students may still see AI summaries on top of Google searches but will not be able to engage with Google’s Gemini chatbot within those searches, according to the district.

And they will not be able to use chatbot helpers that Google offers inside its Classroom software, including Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides. Google Classroom is almost universally used in American schools.

Nicholas Melvoin, a school board member who sits on the committee studying AI, said the board had been surprised by district officials’ decision to fully pause the technology for students.

While Melvoin has led the push to restrict student screen time, he raised questions about the wisdom of a complete AI ban for older teenagers, arguing they would need to understand the technology to prepare for college and the workplace.

“High school is where I would have more teacher discretion, with guardrails,” he said — similar to the path New York City officials outlined Wednesday.

He said his committee would also consider the many big questions about how educators are using the technology, for lesson planning, grading, student feedback and communication with parents.

Los Angeles teachers continue to have access to AI.

AI chatbots can help students learn, acting as a research tool or tutor breaking down complex concepts.

But chatbots can present misinformation. They have also led to an epidemic of cheating, as students prompt AI tools to write essays for them or complete problem sets. Even AI apps marketed specifically to schools have few blocks to prevent plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct.

A growing body of research shows individuals who use chatbots can experience reduced critical thinking.

Common Sense Media, an advocacy group, has broadly tested AI chatbots and recommended their use be limited for people younger than 18, in part because they allow students to avoid the productive struggle of learning.

The group has also raised questions about AI search summaries, which may prevent students from seeking out multiple sources of information on contested subjects.

Yvette Renteria, chief program officer at Common Sense, praised the Los Angeles decision, saying it made sense to take a pause on a rapidly evolving technology. While Common Sense believes students of all ages should be given lessons in AI literacy to better understand how the technology works, she said that did not generally require classroom access to AI tools.

“At this moment, there is oftentimes more danger than opportunity,” Renteria said. She noted that students would still use AI outside school on their personal devices and argued that it remains crucial that educators talk to young people about the risks and potential rewards of AI use.

For several years, debates over technology have roiled the Los Angeles district, the nation’s second-largest, with more than 500,000 students.

Its former superintendent, Alberto Carvalho, was an AI booster who sought to develop the district’s own chatbot for students. But the small startup company Carvalho selected to lead that project had little experience in generative AI, and its CEO was later indicted on charges that she had defrauded investors.

Carvalho resigned from the district in June after the FBI searched his home in a related investigation.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Dana Goldstein/Philip Cheung
c. 2026 The New York Times Company