Los Angeles schools block pupil AI on district devices
Los Angeles Unified, the second-largest US school district, has blocked generative AI on pupils' laptops and tablets for this school year. Senior officials made the decision without a school board vote.
Los Angeles Unified told a school board committee on 2 September 2026 that pupils can no longer use generative AI on district devices.
K-12 Dive reported that the block covers all pupils for the 2026-27 school year. Before it, pupils aged 13 or over could use approved AI tools once they had finished lessons on digital citizenship. A district spokesperson said the block will stay while the district reviews how AI is used in teaching and what safeguards it needs.
I wouldn't expect necessarily that there would be a pause for forever
LAist reported that web-filtering software now blocks any site or app classed as an AI tool on district Chromebooks. A similar tool covers tablets. LAist said the change affects an estimated 378,000 pupils.
The decision surprised the board. Education Week reported that senior administrators imposed the pause on their own authority. Board members Kelly Gonez and Nick Melvoin expressed surprise, though neither objected to it. Melvoin said the step had not come from the board. On the same day, New York City announced a pause on generative AI for its younger pupils.
For families in Los Angeles, the block applies to district laptops and tablets. LAist said the district has no rule yet on pupils' own devices. The filter still applies if a pupil signs in to a district account on a personal device. The district's interim chief information officer told LAist that the software also records how long pupils use district devices.
The district told K-12 Dive that a board committee will recommend rules for future pupil use of AI by the end of the 2026-27 school year. It is not known whether the block will be lifted before then or which tools might return.