About 378,000 Los Angeles Unified School District students can no longer access generative AI tools on district-issued laptops and tablets.

The district announced the moratorium Wednesday, Sept. 2, at the first meeting of a new board committee reviewing AI use in schools, LAmag reported. Board member Kelly Gonez, who chairs the committee, called it "breaking news here in the committee."

The board created the committee in June 2026 when it adopted broader student screen-time restrictions.

The moratorium reverses the district's prior approach. Until the ban, students 13 and older could use pre-approved AI systems at their teacher's discretion after completing a "digital citizenship" lesson. Now, administrators are using a filtering platform called Lightspeed to block all generative AI tools on district devices.

The restriction does not reach students' personal accounts or personal devices. But students logged into a district account on a personal device will still be blocked.

Board member Nick Melvoin said many parents in the room appeared unaware of the ban. "I don't think it's well-publicized and I would encourage us to do more," he said at the Sept. 2 meeting.

Bridie Lee, a leader of the parent advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens LA, praised the move. The group had pushed for a full moratorium on student AI use.

The day before the committee met, Anya Meksin, deputy director of Schools Beyond Screens and parent of an LAUSD elementary student, told LA Local the district needed to "… start from scratch with the foundational question of what is the benefit of these tools in education."

LAUSD first published AI recommendations in April 2024. Those guidelines required teachers to review data privacy rules and obtain parental consent for certain services. Teacher training on AI remains optional; district staff said there is no requirement to attend such instruction.

An AI task force is being formed to guide future policy. The district has also reached labor agreements that prohibit AI from replacing human employees, including teachers and aides.

The generative AI committee, which also includes board members Melvoin and Tanya Ortiz Franklin, has five more meetings scheduled through April 7, 2027. The next is Oct. 21. The committee's goal is to develop AI policy recommendations for a full board vote next year.