reConnect Morton

Take Action Now

Published Aug 17, 2026

🚨 Action item: Email MCUSD asking to address the "unacceptable risk" that Google AI poses to students.

Please read the action alert and email the letter below to our district. Until Google allows the AI search feature to be turned off, it is unsafe for all children to use.

Why This Action Matters

Please email the following information to your child's teacher(s), your building administrator(s), the district administrators and school board.

You can copy + paste the information below and you can also add why you personally are concerned about the "unacceptable risk" that Google AI poses to your child(ren). Changes to existing digital products in schools are happening rapidly and it is important we share our concerns and provide solutions so that parents, teachers, administrators and board members can work collaboratively.

You can find all staff emails here: https://www.morton709.org/staff

District admin emails:

joseph.sander@mcusd709.org
troy.teater@mcusd709.org
kate.wyman@mcusd709.org

Board member emails:

jerry.rudd@mcusd709.org
david.cross@mcusd709.org
amanda.leman@mcusd709.org
krystiana.purdy@mcusd709.org
andrew.roth@mcusd709.org
wes.ohnesorge@mcusd709.org
diane.krall@mcusd709.org

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Google AI Features Pose “Unacceptable Risk”

Notice for School Administrators and Teachers

Did You Know?

On July 14, 2026, Common Sense Media, which has received funding from and partners with tech companies, published a report entitled, “Google Search: AI Overview and AI Mode,” that found that both features create unacceptable risks for kids and teens. These features failed all of Common Sense Media’s tested severe-harm Red Lines. Highlights from the report:

They failed kids in crisis, including reinforcing signs of psychosis and mania, validating disordered eating including purging, and celebrating cannabis use;
They provide information that could facilitate bullying by handing over step-by-step instructions for making deepfakes;
For young learners, AI Mode completed 100% of the homework assignments given to it, doing the work that students are supposed to do themselves;
They proved to be unreliable and inaccurate: They answered the same question differently from one search to the next and presented right and wrong answers with the same confidence;
They treat users of different ages the same, so their failures land hardest on the youngest users.

According to the report, what makes Google Search different from other chatbots or AI apps is that it is ubiquitous on children's personal and school-issued devices, its AI features can't be turned off, and its AI-generated answers often fail in ways that young users may not be able to detect.

Additionally, Google just automatically enabled Gemini for all students via Classroom and other Google apps. Due to the constant changes, it may be easy for those in charge of managing these digital products to miss these product updates.

What You Can Do

AI Overview and AI Mode cannot be disabled by parents, school administrators, or users. Until this changes, we ask that schools immediately prohibit access to Google search until the requisite safeguards have been put in place. Not doing so exposes students to “unacceptable risk” and exposes schools and MCUSD to unnecessary liability.
Teach students about digital literacy and AI awareness using independent, non-tech-funded resources such as Kids Brains and Screens (which is print-based) and The Civics of Technology. You can also work with groups like the PTO to bring in speakers on these topics during in-school assemblies.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter.