California's largest teachers union wants Gov. Gavin Newsom to hit pause on artificial intelligence in elementary and middle school classrooms statewide, asking for a three-year moratorium before he leaves office in January. The California Federation of Teachers, which represents 120,000 educators and faculty, sent the request on Tuesday, warning that unregulated AI tools could harm students' development and strip teachers of control over how they teach.
The union's letter, addressed to the outgoing governor, argues that schools have rushed to adopt AI tools without adequate protections for students or staff, according to the Sacramento Bee. CFT president Jeff Freitas framed the request in stark terms, saying students' brain development “shouldn't be monetized for billionaire profit” and describing the situation as a public health and safety emergency that demands immediate action.
What the Union Says AI Is Already Doing Wrong
According to the letter, AI products deployed in classrooms have already leaked student data, failed to accurately complete the tasks they were designed for, eaten up valuable time for teachers and staff, and delivered dubious educational benefits in return. The union also said educators are not prepared to supervise AI use in their classrooms, and that students themselves may struggle to tell safe AI tools apart from harmful ones.
The CFT pointed to outside research to back its case, citing an MIT study that linked ChatGPT use to weaker brain connectivity during essay writing, and separate Wharton Healthcare Analytics Lab research that found students who used GPT-4 scored 17 percent lower on a later unassisted math test than students who hadn't used the tool. The union's letter also argues that the AI industry's rapid growth amounts to more than ordinary market expansion, a framing meant to underscore the stakes it says schools are facing.
Newsom's Own AI Clock Is Already Ticking
The timing isn't incidental. Newsom directed state agencies in September to develop AI safety recommendations, instructing the Government Operations Agency and the Governor's Office of Emergency Services to report back by Nov. 16, according to CalMatters. Those forthcoming safety regulations may include a potential emergency kill switch for certain AI programs. The CFT is asking Newsom to use an executive order to pause classroom AI use before his term ends in January, giving schools breathing room to sort out emerging concerns rather than leaving the issue to his successor.
The request lands amid what Politico's California Playbook newsletter has described as a broader shift in public sentiment, with the newsletter noting that the public has coalesced around a strong desire for regulation and deep skepticism of the companies behind these technologies, as reported by Politico. California advocacy groups have separately urged Newsom to impose stronger accountability and protections around AI.
How Other Districts and States Are Already Reacting
California schools aren't operating in a vacuum. At least 37 states have issued some form of AI guidance for schools, though there's no single national definition of AI literacy and no consensus on how it should be taught, per the Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Unified enacted its own moratorium on student use of generative AI for the current school year, applying to district-owned devices, though the district has not yet set policy for what students can do on personal devices, the Times reported. A separate account from Just The News described the LAUSD policy differently, saying it allows students 13 and older to access approved generative AI tools once they complete digital citizenship instruction and acknowledge a responsible use policy; the two reports do not agree on the policy's exact scope.
New York City has gone further, putting a moratorium on student-facing generative AI through eighth grade for the entire school year, a policy affecting nearly 600,000 students, according to the Los Angeles Times. In Chicago, roughly half the candidates running for the Board of Education this November signed a pledge backing a three-year moratorium on generative AI in classrooms, Stateline reported. Arizona lawmakers have taken a different approach: a House committee there passed a bill that would require districts and charter schools to teach students about the ethical, moral and educational uses of AI, while Illinois rolled out its own guidance package in June for districts evaluating AI products, per Just The News.
Tech Companies Are Moving Faster Than Regulators
Part of what's fueling the union's urgency is that private companies are setting their own terms for schools regardless of what state policy says. Google has said it plans to make its Guided Learning AI product the default for school searches and intends to block K-12 students from using its standard search engine starting in January unless districts opt into the AI-generated version, according to the Almanac. That move has stoked concern among critics about how much control a single tech company can exert over classroom tools nationwide.
Separately, California's SB 1288, an education-code measure establishing an artificial intelligence working group for public schools, was approved and filed in September 2024, according to bill text maintained by the California Legislative Information system. Whether Newsom will grant the CFT's request for a classroom-wide pause, or how his office plans to respond, remains to be seen as his November deadline for state AI safety recommendations approaches.
