AIBRIEF
The nation's second largest school district follows New York by one day and covers more grades. The moratorium was imposed by administrators, not the school board.
New York City barred pre-K through 8th-grade students from generative AI on Monday, with limited high-school use allowed. Los Angeles Unified did the same the next day, and went further: the moratorium covers high schoolers on district devices and runs the full 2026-27 school year.
Together, the nation's two largest school systems have moved within 24 hours, and the gap between the two rules is the news. New York's ban stops at 8th grade, with narrow exceptions for older students. Los Angeles blocks an estimated 378,000 students across all grade levels, with the ban set to be revisited after one academic year.
LAUSD chief academic officer Pia Sadaqatmal framed the move as adaptive caution about an emerging technology. The restriction applies to LAUSD-issued devices and supersedes a prior policy that allowed students 13 and older to use AI tools under supervision after a digital citizenship lesson.
The moratorium was imposed by senior administrators, not a board vote. Board members Kelly Gonez and Nick Melvoin said they were caught off guard. The board's new ad hoc AI committee is now tasked with drafting recommendations for full board approval by next year.
The move follows the board's unanimous June vote to limit student screen time, which barred screens for students until 2nd grade. Parent group Schools Beyond Screens LA, led by Bridie Lee, had pushed for a full moratorium.
Blanket bans can push AI use off-limits but not off-screen. The rule still leaves enforcement, classroom guidance, and the year-end review unsettled.