The Los Angeles public school system will vastly restrict the use of artificial intelligence at all grade levels, district officials said on Wednesday at a board of education meeting.
The move came a day after the nation’s largest school system, in New York City, announced it would ban most A.I. 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 A.I. restrictions 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 spokeswoman.
Students may still see A.I. 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.
It was not yet clear if students would be able to use chatbot helpers that Google embeds in its Classroom software, including when they write. Google Classroom is near-universally used in American schools.
Nicholas Melvoin, a school board member who sits on the committee studying A.I., said the board had been surprised by district officials’ decision to fully pause the technology for students.
While Mr. Melvoin has led the push to restrict student screen time, he raised questions about the wisdom of a complete A.I. 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 on 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 A.I.
A.I. 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 A.I. tools to write essays for them or complete problem sets. Even A.I. 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 A.I. chatbots and recommended their use be limited for people under 18, in part because they allow students to avoid the productive struggle of learning.
The group has also raised questions about A.I. 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 A.I. literacy to better understand how the technology works, she said that did not generally require classroom access to A.I. tools.
“At this moment, there is oftentimes more danger than opportunity,” Ms. Renteria said. She noted that students would still use A.I. outside of school on their personal devices, and argued that it remains crucial that educators talk to young people about the risks and potential rewards of A.I. use.
For several years, debates over technology have roiled the Los Angeles district, the nation’s second-largest, with over half a million students.
Its former superintendent, Alberto Carvalho, was an A.I. booster who sought to develop the district’s own chatbot for students. But the small start-up company Mr. Carvalho selected to lead that project had little experience in generative A.I., and its C.E.O. was later indicted on charges that she had defrauded investors.
Mr. Carvalho resigned from the district in June after the F.B.I. searched his home in a related investigation.
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