The Brief

Orange County’s elected treasurer was found to have thrown office keys at a subordinate out of anger, according to an investigation county officials commissioned and funded. The report, from 2022, was obtained by LAist through a records request. Its findings were not known to county supervisors until recently.

A secretary who witnessed the incident quit her job the same day as a result, according to the report, which found the September 2021 incident was a likely violation of workplace violence policies.

It’s one of numerous complaints of mismanagement against O.C. Treasurer-Tax Collector Shari Freidenrich, including employee allegations documented by investigators that she’s been an “extreme micro-manager,” and allegations from the county chief executive that she has been late in pursuing $36 million in property taxes owed to the county.

O.C. supervisors now say these findings and other concerns were behind their unusual decision late last year to yank Friedenrich’s authority to oversee the investment of $17 billion in taxpayer dollars. Until recent days, they weren’t telling the public why Friedenrich — who was first elected in 2010 and has run unopposed since — had lost that authority.

Board members addressed the situation at this week’s regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday and released a “fact sheet” from the county CEO’s office detailing allegations. That includes investigators’ findings that Friedenrich ran a department with a “highly charged atmosphere of mistrust, suspicion and the belief that Freidenrich has engaged in demeaning, condescending and unfair behavior.”

How we got here

LAist reached out to all five supervisors for comment after receiving public records documenting the investigation, an employee survey critical of her leadership and complaints in a resignation letter by a high-ranking executive under her. Supervisor Janet Nguyen did not respond before publication.

Supervisors Katrina Foley and Vicente Sarmiento told LAist that the board pulled back Freidenrich’s authority to invest after a meeting last fall where Foley and Supervisor Don Wagner heard directly from department employees alleging that Freidenrich created a hostile work environment for her department’s staff.

“ The level of toxicity that the employees uniformly shared was alerting,” Foley said of concerns she says she heard directly from employees.

That fall 2024 meeting was the first time Foley learned of the key-throwing incident, she told LAist.

During that meeting, Foley said, the employees also told her Freidenrich’s behavior was causing widespread problems, including delays in cashing checks, a lack of training for new employees and delays in collecting $36 million owed to the county in unpaid property taxes. The alleged collection delays were in filing liens that pressure owners to pay overdue taxes, and in auctioning off properties with long-overdue tax bills.

Additionally, Foley said Freidenrich missed an important deadline to list county assets, a failure she said caused the auditor-controller to be late on the county’s comprehensive annual financial report — one of the county’s most important financial filings. These delays, Foley said, were of concern because they put at risk the county's credit rating and had the potential to delay state and federal funding if the CEO and CFO had not intervened to get the report done.

The list of allegations against Freidenrich were shared in a document prepared by the office of Michelle Aguirre, the county’s chief executive. The document, which is labeled as a “fact sheet,” was distributed to the press by Foley this week.

In a statement to LAist on Wednesday, Freidenrich said, “These allegations claim to create a pretext for disrupting my honest, ethical and effective stewardship of $17 billion in public funds.”

The allegations and Freidenrich’s response

Regarding the alleged delays in filing liens to collect property tax, Freidenrich wrote to LAist that her office has the highest collection rate in the state for the largest type of property tax. She pointed to state data, which show Orange County ranks fourth among California's 58 counties in total property tax collections. She also said that it is not cost-effective to hold annual auctions of properties whose tax bills are years overdue, another issue raised in the county CEO’s allegations. The CEO’s document says Freidenrich hasn’t held an auction since 2021, causing the county to miss out on $4.4 million.

When LAist asked Freidenrich about the allegations of a hostile work environment, including the key-throwing incident, she said: “There has never been any findings of this type of environment related to my management by the County, who investigated some isolated incidents based on allegations several years ago.”

In a written statement to LAist, Freidenrich said the key-throwing incident was due to her being a “klutz.” She said she “tripped on the way to the door to give the staff the keys. The keys flew out of my hands.”

When Freidenrich spoke to investigators in spring 2022, she also told them she tripped and the keys fell out of her hand. The investigators did not find her account credible, stating in their report: “The evidence supports a finding that Freidenrich intentionally threw keys.”

Freidenrich also told LAist she has never previously heard a complaint of lack of staff training. Gaps in employee training were mentioned in a 2021 county performance audit of her department — a finding she provided a written response to at the time — as well as in a union summary of an employee survey it conducted later that year.

Asked for comment, the county CEO’s office said Freidenrich’s comments didn’t address the specific complaints LAist was reporting on.

“The Treasurer-Tax Collector’s responses appear to deflect rather than respond to the specific questions asked by the LAist,” said a statement Wednesday from the office.

“The CEO’s office has been working since 2017 to address long-standing and pervasive issues with the Treasurer-Tax Collector that has been thoroughly vetted in our eight-page fact sheet that we provided to the Board of Supervisors prior to yesterday’s Board meeting,” the statement read.

“Through the PRA process, media outlets have also received reports that further illustrate a long-standing pattern of dysfunction that have caused harm to the department and the employees who work there.”

Public comments from supervisors this week

Orange County Civic Center

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Yusra Farzan

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LAist

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County supervisors discussed concerns about Freidenrich at their regular board meeting on Tuesday in Santa Ana.

“ I do not ... relish bringing these items up in a public setting, which show the mismanagement and improper behavior of the Treasurer Tax Collector,” Doug Chaffee said. Chaffee declined to respond to LAist's separate requests for comment.

“But the board cannot simply sit idly by while a county elected department creates an environment which is ripe for fiscal mismanagement, plus the welfare and well-being of our county employees being put at risk.”

Supervisor Wagner, who also declined to respond to LAist, said at Tuesday's meeting that he and Foley first learned of the scale of alleged mismanagement when they met last fall with a dozen high-level employees who work for Freidenrich.

“They were telling us stories that were hair curling about that office. And that's what finally prompted us to act,” Wagner said, referring to the board’s decision to yank the investment authority from Freidenrich.

About the treasurer’s department

Freidenrich oversees a staff of dozens who collect about $9 billion each year in property taxes, according to state data. She also serves as the banker for public school and community college districts and the county government.

And until the end of last year, she oversaw the $17 billion investment pool for taxpayer funds held by the county, school districts and community college districts. That’s the only part of her job the supervisors can take away, because the rest of her duties are assigned to her under state law as an elected official, according to the county CEO’s office. She remains responsible for the duties assigned to her by law, including collecting taxes, a spokesperson for the CEO’s office said.

When she was elected in 2010, she jumped from managing fewer than 10 full-time staff as Huntington Beach’s elected treasurer to overseeing about 100 employees at the county in her first year, according to data published by the state.

A county spokesperson told LAist that a professional coach was hired to work with Freidenrich when the investigation report was completed in 2022. The county paid $2,200 for the coaching, she said, and also over recent years provided additional internal coaching by Colette Farnes, the county’s HR director, and Michelle Aguirre, the interim county CEO.

Details of the workplace violence investigation

The probe into Freidenrich’s department was conducted by a law firm the county hired following complaints from employees “of abusive conduct and retaliation” by Freidenrich. The report — dated April 29, 2022 — is marked “confidential.” LAist obtained it earlier this month from the CEO’s office through a public records request, citing court precedent requiring release of such investigation reports.

“The allegation that Freidenrich threw office keys at [employee name redacted], in violation of the County's Workplace Violence Prevention Policy, is SUBSTANTIATED,” states the report.

A temporary secretary quit the day of the incident because of Freidenrich’s actions, according to the report, citing testimony by Freidenrich and a witness.

Other employees corroborated the key-throwing incident, according to the report, and investigators did not find Freidenrich to be credible in claiming the keys accidentally flew out of her hands.

The investigation report also stated that among employees there is a belief that “Freidenrich has engaged in demeaning, condescending, and unfair behavior. Complainants contend that Freidenrich created this situation through conduct that is punitive, abusive, and belittling, and that Freidenrich excessively monitors and micromanages employees, thus resulting in a chilling effect on the entire workplace.”

The report states that the evidence supports many complaints from staff “regarding Freidenrich’s condescending behavior and occasionally demeaning conduct, as well as the excessive micromanaging.”

A few weeks after the investigation report, the county’s human resources director noted the findings in a “cease-and-desist” letter to Freidenrich.

“The independent investigator’s findings raise serious concerns about your treatment of Treasurer-Tax Collector employees,” wrote Farnes, the human resources director.

“Physical violence in a County workplace will not be tolerated,” Farnes added.

“As the County’s Chief Human Resources Officer, I am obligated to instruct you to cease and desist from any and all verbal or physical conduct that violates County policy,” she continued. “As an elected Department Head, it is your duty to provide a safe, healthy, and positive working environment for the County’s employees assigned to you.”

Freidenrich told LAist that she disagreed with the investigation’s findings “but accepted it, retained an executive coach and moved on.”

“Taxpayers expect me to do my official duties in a common-sense, efficient and cost-effective manner and to keep public funds safe …” she added, “from time to time, over the past 14 years, I have had to hold some [department staff members] accountable to ensure that the processes in the office are meeting the high standards expected by taxpayers.”

The records the county disclosed to LAist, which include the employee survey and performance audit, show numerous other allegations of mismanagement by Freidenrich in recent years. One is a resignation letter from early 2024 by a high-ranking executive. She alleged that Freidenrich caused high turnover in the department through a “dysfunctional organizational culture.”

The letter was written by Jennifer Burkhart, who resigned in January 2024. She wrote that Freidenrich’s “obsessive micromanagement, paranoia, dishonesty, and bullying” and “disregard for County employees” made for an unhealthy work environment. She added that these issues and Freidenrich’s “unrealistic expectations of perfection and continual criticism” contributed to high turnover within the department.

Concerns about high turnover were also separately highlighted by the county audit and employee survey.

The audit found that Freidenrich’s department had a “significantly higher” share of employees leave their jobs compared to other departments, resulting in a higher workload for remaining staff. About one-third of all staff left the department in 2019, the report found.

Later that year, an Orange County Employees Association survey of 30 employees found that Freidenrich was overly involved in low-level work processes and caused inefficiencies within the department, according to a report summarizing the responses. Employees surveyed by the union said processes and directions changed often. In the survey, employees used words like “Toxic,” “Unhealthy,” “Hostile” and “Fearful” to describe the department’s culture.

Why is the board taking more action now?

Despite the investigation report being provided to the county HR director in spring 2022, two county supervisors told LAist they only learned of it toward the end of 2024.

Sarmiento told LAist that employee concerns about a hostile work environment compelled him to “ reconsider” Freidenrich’s authority over the investment pool.

The board voted in late December to not renew Freidenrich’s investment authority starting in the new year. At that point, Sarmiento said he was aware of general information about challenges at the department — “ the turnover rates, some of the employee comments. But I didn't know with specificity what some of the specific incidents were.”

Since then, Sarmiento said, he has learned more details from the CEO’s office.

Foley said she and other supervisors learned of the mismanagement allegations against Freidenrich last fall at the same time they were learning of problems with former Supervisor Andrew Do’s handling of taxpayer dollars. Do pleaded guilty in October to a bribery scheme to steal millions of dollars meant to feed needy seniors, following an LAist investigation and federal probe.

“ One of the cultural shifts that's happening on the Board of Supervisors is to do away with what I think has been a historical failure to take into consideration employee complaints,” Foley said. “We are no longer allowing those complaints to just sit to the side and be ignored.”

The board, she said, will now take action on staff complaints so issues don’t fester and become a scandal.

“ It's a new board, a new CEO, new management,” she said when asked why it took so long for the board to be alerted. “All I can do is move forward.”

Even so, Foley said the Board of Supervisors is responsible for monitoring Freidenrich’s actions as a county official.

“ We have a legal duty to supervise the official conduct of all county officials, including the county treasurer,” she said. “And this is as it relates specifically to functions and duties of county officers relating to assessing, collecting, safekeeping, management, or disbursement of public funds.”

The shadow of a painful history

The board’s supervision of the treasurer position — or the lack thereof — has been the subject of controversy in the past.

In the 1990s, two of the then-supervisors were indicted by a grand jury for failing to properly safeguard public funds handled by former O.C. Treasurer Bob Citron. His high-risk investments lost $1.6 billion in O.C. taxpayer dollars and prompted the largest local government bankruptcy in U.S. history up to that point.

The county’s 1994 bankruptcy prompted slashes to programs for people in need, including canceling half of the county’s contracts with therapists serving thousands of families at risk of child abuse, the New York Times reported at the time.

An appeals court later dismissed the indictments against the supervisors, but the memory of the bankruptcy lives on.

“ We've seen — many, many years ago — predecessors of ours allow what turned out to be too much independence at the treasurer-tax collector role,” Wagner said during Tuesday’s board meeting.

“ We have suffered through some incredibly difficult and painful lessons when the Board of Supervisors does not act quickly and decisively  when exercising our authority as it relates to public finance,” Chaffee said.

Exposition Park’s new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opens to the public on Sept. 22 — and LAist got a preview.

The 300,000-square-foot building, designed by architect Ma Yansong, working with the firm Stantec, could easily blend into the scenery of Coruscant or Bespin in the Star Wars universe.

For the fans of that certain long-time ago, far, far-away universe, you are immediately greeted by a Naboo Starfighter big enough to fit inside at the museum entrance with a life-size R2-D2 in the co-pilot seat.

Star Wars fans will definitely get their fill with pieces like this in the cinema section:

Doug Chiang, Podrace Crash, production art for "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace," 1995–99. Digital print.

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Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

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You can find designs and set pieces from other George Lucas production companies, Industrial Light and Magic and Skywalker Sound, but the museum is dedicated to impactful storytelling of all kinds, with a special focus on the work of illustrators.

“Most of the stories are myths, they're not real, but the illustrations make them real,” George Lucas said at a preview event. “A picture is very powerful, and the stories are very powerful, and you combine them together, and those two elements create a society.”

So, you’ll also see works like this E.H. Shepard illustration from Winnie-the-Pooh in a section dedicated to children’s stories.

E. H. Shepard, “Christopher Robin at the enchanted place,” illustration for Home Chat, 1928.

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Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

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And that’s not the only significant work you’ll see there.

 “You can see one of the first historically important ‘dogs playing poker’ paintings made in 1894 as a whiskey advertisement, very close to Frida Kahlo, very close to Batman,” Lucas Museum senior curator Ryan Linkof said.

The museum’s umbrella of “narrative art” encompasses fine art like these works from painter, pro-football player and actor Ernie Barnes, photographer Dorothea Lange, and comic book artist Rafael Navarro:

Ernie Barnes, The Critic’s Corner, 2007. Acrylic on canvas.

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Matt Kroening

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Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

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Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California, 1936.

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Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

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Rafael Navarro, art for Sonámbulo: Mexican Stand-Off, 2006.

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Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

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Murals and public art

The museum features public art installations — both reproductions of works by Diego Rivera and Banksy.

Three of the featured works by Banksy.

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Matthew Kroening

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Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

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You'll also experience an extensive video installation of Judith Baca’s The Great Wall of Los Angeles, which you can take in while sitting instead of having to walk the whole length.

A new green space in the middle of the city

The museum boasts extensive grounds built on a former parking lot. There, you can see a number of sculptures, including one of Jabba the Hutt and Princess Leia.

Jabba the Hutt and Princess Leia statue.

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Kevin Tidmarsh

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LAist

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“This public park is available and accessible to everyone all the time, even if you don't come to the museum, even if the museum's not open. You can come to the research library,” Linkof said. “It's an asset and a resource for everyone, including and especially the community.”

How to visit

• Location: One Lucas Plaza, Exposition Park, Los Angeles
• Tickets: Timed tickets cost $25 for adults, $21 for seniors and are to free to minors, active-duty military, members and LM37 passholders. See your options ▶
• Park access: Free
• Regular hours:
  Mon, Wed, Thu: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  Fri: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
  Sat: 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.
  Sun: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  Closed Tuesdays

Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman on Wednesday won the backing of the Democratic Socialists of America L.A. in her challenge to incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. The DSA-LA is a potent political organization known for mounting successful door-knocking campaigns for candidates for political office.

The endorsement places the resources of DSA-LA to work for Raman in what’s expected to be a close race for mayor, but also opens Raman up to criticism that she’s too far left in her political views for the voters of L.A.

The endorsement came after Raman won more than 60% of the vote in an online election held within the organization over the past week. Of the more than 6,000 members in the L.A. region, 1,400 participated in the vote.

“With Raman at the top of the ticket, DSA-LA is organizing to unite tenants, union members, immigrant communities, and working Angelenos behind a slate that can break corporate interests’ grip on city government,” DSA-LA said in a statement. “Our vision is clear: win office, build a governing majority, and deliver a city working people can afford to call home.”

Raman, a member of the organization, was first elected with its help in an upset victory over an incumbent City Council member in 2020. She was the first of four DSA-LA members elected to the council in recent years.

“A socialist movement with a path to the mayor’s office in Los Angeles should make the political establishment nervous,” said Sean Wakasa, DSA-LA co-chair. “The opportunity in front of us is enormous, and we intend to meet it.”

Raman was not immediately available for comment.

A spokesperson for the Bass campaign did not comment specifically on the endorsement but pointed to some of the issues that surfaced in debates between the candidates, including how to handle homeless encampments and Police Department funding.

"Nithya Raman said kids aren't safer if an encampment is 500 feet away from a school and voted repeatedly to cut basic public safety funding to make LA safer," Alex Stack said. "Those are positions she now fully owns as she tries to flip-flop and convince voters otherwise."

Raman has defended her opposition to a ban on camping next to schools, saying moving them merely shuffles homeless people from one neighborhood to the next.

A 'double-edged sword'

Some voters will likely be turned off by the DSA’s endorsement of Raman, according to USC Political Science Professor Christian Grose.

“The DSA endorsement is definitely a double-edged sword,” he said. “It's going to hurt her with the Pratt voters, who will be decisive potentially in the election.”

Conservative T.V. personality Spencer Pratt finished third in the primary with 26% of the vote.

Grose added that Raman already has come under fire for her association with the DSA-LA.

“So those attacks were kind of happening already,” he said.

Wasaka said Raman nonetheless has a lot of appeal to progressive voters.

“Nithya Raman has had a long history with DSA-LA and has helped pass transformative policies at the city level,” Wasaka said. “Her leadership and progressive vision have aligned with DSA members, and we are excited to canvas for her and help her win.

“We’re knocking on tens of thousands of doors, we’re hosting fundraisers and we’re talking to all of our neighbors and families about how these candidates are going to build political power for the working class.”

The DSA-LA endorsed several other candidates in local elections, including Marissa Roy over John McKinney in the L.A. city attorney’s race.

Raman is a member of the DSA-LA, but was not endorsed in the primary, in part because some members said she didn’t hew closely enough to the party line. Raman, for example, wants to roll back part of the mansion tax, which places an extra tax on the sale of properties worth more than $5.4 million. Raman has said it discourages the building of affordable housing.

Other endorsements

The DSA-LA backing comes on the heels of another big endorsement of Raman from a major labor union. Earlier this week, Unite HERE Local 11, which represents hotel and restaurant workers, said it is backing Raman.

“Nithya Raman will fight alongside our members to protect working families, enforce our laws, preserve our housing, and hold corporations like Airbnb accountable when they take desperately needed homes off the market,” said Ada Briceño, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11.

Political scientist Fernando Guerra of Loyola Marymount’s Center for the Study of Los Angeles said the union’s endorsement is important.

“I would 10 times more want the endorsement from UNITE HERE that has 30,000 members,” said Guerra. “They are one of the most powerful electoral bodies in terms of mobilization in all of California, especially in Los Angeles.”

Most labor unions back Bass in the election, including the powerful L.A. County Federation of Labor. The Democratic Party and Chamber of Commerce also have endorsed Bass.

Despite speculation earlier this week, a hurricane is not going to hit Southern California this weekend.

Tropical Storm Marie is churning in the Pacific Ocean several hundred miles off the coast of Mexico. It’s expected to reach hurricane strength by Thursday morning.

The storm is moving northwest, which is typical for most storms in the eastern Pacific. Forecasters say the chance is extremely minimal that it will veer north.

“The current forecast track is for Marie to continue to move off to the west and northwest, further and further away,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Rich Thompson.

A diagram shows the likely path of Tropical Storm and Hurricane Marie through Monday morning.

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NOAA

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But that doesn’t mean we’ll dodge its effects completely.

Hurricanes can affect weather patterns from afar, and Marie is likely to significantly impact Southern California’s weather and beaches over Labor Day weekend.

Beware dangerous beach conditions

Recent storm surges already have damaged Aliso Beach in Laguna Beach. A storm off the coast now has meteorologists warning of rough beach conditions and high moisture heading into the Labor Day weekend.

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Allen J. Schaben

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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

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The strongest effects from the storm will be felt along the coast.

 ”Those beach coastal impacts are gonna be the big thing to watch for this weekend,” Thompson said. “You're going to have a large and southeast southerly swell moving into the coastal waters from the hurricane.”

Forecasters are warning that the swell will come with dangerously strong rip currents and big waves, especially along south-facing beaches. It could also bring the potential for coastal flooding.

The swell's peak will probably hit Sunday and Monday.

Surf along the Southern California coast has already been high this summer. Last weekend, the conditions, combined with large beach crowds, led to more than 1,200 ocean rescues by L.A. County lifeguards. With temperatures soaring, more than 1 million people went to L.A. County beaches last weekend.

And with the holiday this weekend, large crowds are likely to return to the beaches, potentially putting more people in the path of even more dangerous ocean conditions.

If you do plan to go to the beach, the safest option is to stay near occupied lifeguard posts and heed lifeguard warnings. Also, stay off of jetties and coastal rocks.

If you’re caught in a rip current, swim parallel to the shoreline. Once you stop feeling the current’s pull, swim at an angle away from the current and toward the shore. If needed, tread water and wave for help.

National Weather Service safety tips on how to move out of a rip current safely.

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The ocean conditions this weekend are also coming after high surf and tides have already caused significant coastal erosion ahead of this winter’s El Niño.

Moisture incoming

Marie will also bring a surge of moisture to Southern California, which means beaches will likely be socked in by tropical cloud cover.

It also means there will be a chance of rain across the region.

But at most, the rain will be light, with about a 50% chance of half an inch or less. Forecasters do not expect precipitation to be heavy enough to cause mudslides or hydrate vegetation in any significant way.

However, there is still some uncertainty among forecasters when it comes to the amount of rain and strength of the storm — they could vary if the storm’s path shifts even slightly.

“ That's what we're watching very closely in the next several days,” Thompson said. “If the forecast does seem to change over the next couple of days, it's because the track of the storm would have changed.”

If the storm veers slightly closer to North America, Thompson said the amount of rain and severity of ocean conditions would increase. If it veers the other direction, they would decrease.

Los Angeles Unified has blocked student access to generative artificial intelligence tools on district-issued devices.

”This is an emerging technology,” said Pia Sadaqatmal, chief academic officer in an interview with LAist. “We will continue to be adaptive as needed, but we do know that the heart of it is really making sure that we keep teaching and learning at the center of our decision.”

Wednesday’s announcement, made at the kickoff meeting of a new AI committee, was a surprise to board members and parents in attendance.

“Just based on the facial expressions of folks in this room, many parents, some of whom work at the district, some of whom don't, I don't think it's well-publicized,” said Nick Melvoin, one of three board members on the committee, after district staff explained the restrictions. “I would encourage us to do more.”

The district’s decision bars an estimated 378,000 students from using generative AI tools on LAUSD laptops and tablets. New York City’s public school system — the only district in the country larger than LAUSD — also announced new limits on artificial intelligence Tuesday.

Parents affiliated with the advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens, which has called for a moratorium on student AI usage in the district, edited prepared comments as they stood at the podium before the committee.

“ We are asking our local institut — no, we're thanking our local institution,” said Sandra Martinez Roe.  "Thank you, LAUSD for setting an example and knowing that your obligation is to do so.”

How LAUSD changed course on AI 

Previously, district policy allowed students 13 and older to use AI tools under school supervision and after they complete a lesson about “digital citizenship.”  

The LAUSD board voted in June to enact what was then the most-widespread student screentime restrictions in the country, but did not specify limitations to student AI use.

The resolution instead created an ad hoc generative AI committee with the goal of developing policy recommendations for board approval by next year.

Committee chair Kelly Gonez said the new restrictions were a surprise, but that she substantially agreed with the decision to limit students’ access to generative AI.

“ I wouldn't expect necessarily that there would be a pause for forever,” Gonez said. “But this provides us the opportunity to really think through what does our policy look like moving forward.”

How the AI rules work in practice

There is currently no mechanism or policy to prevent students from using AI on personal devices to complete school work, though the software will continue to block access if a student signs in to their district profile on that personal device.

District leaders said the web-filtering software Lightspeed prevents students from accessing any website or app categorized as an AI tool on an LAUSD Chromebook. There is a comparable tool for tablets, said  David Cooper, senior director of information technology.

The district’s interim chief information officer, Douglas Le, said Lightspeed can also track how long students use district devices.

“This allows us to capture their screen time, the app usage to the second,” he said.

That information will be available in the future to students’ families through the Parent Portal app, teachers and the board, Le said.

How to weigh in on LAUSD’s AI policy

The LAUSD board’s generative AI committee meeting is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays through April 2027.

• Oct. 21, 2026
• Dec. 9, 2026
• Jan. 20, 2027
• March 3, 2027
• April 7, 2027

Community members can tune in to the meetings online, over the phone or in person at the board room at 333 S. Beaudry Ave.

The district is also publishing information related to student screentime and other technology use, including information about a series of webinars, at lausd.org/screentime.