California teachers’ union asks Newsom for three-year AI pause in K–8 classrooms

The California Federation of Teachers wants Gov. Gavin Newsom to stop AI use in kindergarten-through-eighth-grade public school classrooms for three years. Its request, made this week, argues that adoption is moving ahead without adequate protections—and that neither educators nor students are prepared to manage the risks. The proposed pause is not an enacted state policy.

A deadline before Newsom leaves office

The union, which represents 120,000 educators and faculty, asked Newsom to issue an executive order before his term ends in January. It said it sent him a letter requesting the pause so schools would have time to address concerns about AI’s effects on students and instruction.

It asks for a temporary stop, not simply additional guidance for teachers supervising the tools. In its letter, the union warned that unregulated AI could harm children’s development and reduce educators’ control over instruction.

Students’ brain development shouldn’t be monetized for billionaire profit.

Jeff Freitas, California Federation of Teachers president, in a statement

Supervision and learning are separate concerns

Its letter also challenged the educational value of the tools themselves. The union alleged that AI products were leaking student data, failing to complete their intended tasks accurately and consuming teachers’ and staff members’ time. It described the benefits for students as dubious. These are the union’s stated grounds for intervention, rather than findings from a state investigation.

To support its concerns about learning, the letter cited an MIT study linking ChatGPT use to weaker brain connectivity during essay writing. It also cited Wharton Healthcare Analytics Lab research reporting that students who used GPT-4 scored 17 percent lower on a later unassisted math test than students who had not used it.

The two cited results concern different activities and measurements: brain connectivity during writing, and performance on a subsequent math test without assistance. They should not be read as a finding that every AI tool produces the same effect in every K–8 classroom.

A classroom halt, not just safety-rule development

The appeal follows Newsom’s September executive order directing state agencies to develop AI safety regulations. That effort included consideration of a potential emergency “kill switch” for certain AI programs. The union is seeking a different kind of intervention: a time-limited restriction on classroom use, rather than a process for developing broader safety rules.

Freitas framed the issue as a public health and safety emergency requiring immediate action.