Los Angeles Unified School District weighs response to new Google search terms

Los Angeles Unified School District is evaluating its options following a policy shift by Google that ties access to its search engine to the adoption of artificial intelligence. The district stated it is reviewing the announcement and its potential implications for schools, educators, and students.

Google announced last week that it will disable access to products like Gemini and Google Search by default for schools in the coming months. The company stated that schools should have control over AI in the classroom. However, because Google Search currently includes an AI chatbot and uses AI to summarize results, schools that restrict AI tools will lose access to the search engine entirely. Chris Phillips, vice president for education at Google, told The New York Times that search and AI are deeply integrated. He noted that if a school bans AI, students will not have access to search and will see a message indicating it is unavailable.

The district implemented a moratorium on students using generative AI on district-issued devices earlier this school year. A spokesperson for LAUSD said the district believes emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, have the potential to enhance teaching and learning when introduced thoughtfully and responsibly with clear safeguards. Currently, students can still use Google to search for information, but the AI mode featuring the Gemini chatbot is turned off. Some searches may still display an AI-generated summary. The district has asked Google for a modification to allow these summaries to be turned off.

The policy change has drawn criticism from advocacy groups. Lila Byock, founder of Schools Beyond Screens, said Google forced its AI products into classrooms and parents fought back. Byock stated that Google is now refusing to take no for an answer. She called on district leaders to reclaim their authority from corporate interests and divest from Google. If a school opts in to AI, Google said it will offer a guided learning tool in its chatbot for student accounts to help them work through problems without skipping straight to answers.

The LAUSD Generative AI Ad Hoc Committee is scheduled to meet on Friday, Nov. 13, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The meeting will take place in person at 333 S. Beaudry Ave in downtown Los Angeles. The session will also be streamed online and will offer interpretation in American Sign Language and Spanish. Community members can request interpretation in other languages by contacting the Board Secretariat at secretariat@lausd.net or (213) 241-7002.

The agenda for the meeting is currently posted online. The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 13.