California's Teachers Union Asked Newsom to Pause Generative AI in Kindergarten Through 8th Grade

The California Federation of Teachers is asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to pause the use of artificial intelligence in public-school classrooms, citing concerns about the safety of students and teachers, KQED reported in its Thursday morning briefing.

The union, which represents 100,000 California school employees, sent a letter to Newsom this week asking the outgoing governor to issue an executive order placing a three-year moratorium on "student-facing technologies that include generative AI features" in kindergarten through eighth grade. The letter said the temporary ban is needed so Gov.-elect Xavier Becerra and lawmakers can "work with stakeholders and pass legislation that will protect from the known and potentially unknown harms of AI."

"California must pause the proliferation of this unregulated and unsecure technology in our classrooms while we engage in further research and develop an education-focused plan on technology and its use in the classroom," the letter stated.

A Newsom spokesperson said his office was reviewing the letter. KQED reported that such an order would likely require the approval of the legislature because it would involve a change in statute. The briefing did not include a response from school districts, technology companies or Becerra's transition team.

The request lands in the final stretch of Newsom's term, after a midterm that made Becerra the governor-elect, a transition already covered in earlier reporting. It is also separate from a Google plan to block K-12 Search unless districts opt into AI, though both speak to the same fight over how quickly AI tools should reach California classrooms. The CFT letter, as described by KQED, is limited to student-facing generative AI in kindergarten through eighth grade; it did not, in that account, ask for a ban in high schools or on every form of classroom software. The union tied the pause to more research and to an "education-focused plan" before those tools spread further.

Whether Newsom acts before leaving office, or leaves the issue to Becerra and the Legislature, is not yet clear. The union has asked for a pause long enough to study harms and write an education-focused plan. Until the governor's office does more than review the letter, the moratorium is a request, not a rule.