Keep AI Out of Chico Unified Schools! Protect Our Kids!

The Issue

In December of 2025, Chico Unified School Board (CUSD) members voted to sign a $2 million contract with Riverside Technologies Inc. using Verkada (AI) technology in all local schools. It has come to light that they knew they screwed up with this vote. Parents, teachers, school staff, students, and community members spoke up for months against this contract but the school board members pushed it forward anyways despite all of the warnings about Verkada:

They have a history of using their own cameras and data to harass female employees
They are already under federal government oversight for data breaches and for violating the CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act)

If you want to better understand the dangers that AI-surveillance poses to our children, please check out the research and reporting from the American Civil Liberties Union (ALCU). The AI-surveillance isn't just in the cameras: it is also embedded in all the computers at every school. This means your child is being tracked and watched every time they use a computer at school.

In the spring of 2026, CUSD voted to only use the AI-powered automated license plate reader (ALPR) function of these new cameras. However, it is now coming to light that the Chico Police Department granted ICE and border patrol access to its ALPR data. CUSD can also share its ALPR information with law enforcement putting our children, school staff, and teachers at risk.

This is why we must protect our children and our community by keeping AI-powered security cameras and surveillance technology out of our local schools! Protect our kids!

Alicia TriderPetition Starter

Media inquiries

372

Let’s get to 500 signatures!

Petitions with 1,000+ supporters are 5x more likely to win!

The Issue

They have a history of using their own cameras and data to harass female employees
They are already under federal government oversight for data breaches and for violating the CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act)

If you want to better understand the dangers that AI-surveillance poses to our children, please check out the research and reporting from the American Civil Liberties Union (ALCU). The AI-surveillance isn't just in the cameras: it is also embedded in all the computers at every school. This means your child is being tracked and watched every time they use a computer at school.

This is why we must protect our children and our community by keeping AI-powered security cameras and surveillance technology out of our local schools! Protect our kids!

Alicia TriderPetition Starter

Media inquiries

Support now

372

Let’s get to 500 signatures!

Petitions with 1,000+ supporters are 5x more likely to win!

The Decision Makers

Chico Unified School Board,

5 Members

2 Responded

California

Thomas Lando

Chico Unified School Board - Area 4

“Thank you for the opportunity to respond. CUSD takes student safety and privacy very seriously. In February, the board votes unanimously to ban the use of AI or facial recognition in our security systems. In April, the district held a community meeting and focus group to clarify exactly how parents, students, and staff wanted to see the cameras used. Chico Unified does not use Automatic License Plate Reader technology and has no plans or desire to do so. Our system is in no way related or connected to the City of Chico flock cameras. We understand that the way these cameras were purchased brought up a lot of frustration and concern about the role of technology and surveillance in schools, and we welcome continued conversation. Please feel free to reach out to me or the rest of the board with any concerns. With gratitude, Tom [Note: The Change.org Civic Engagement Team reaches out to decision makers to let them know about petitions in their community and to help facilitate engagement with supporters. The above was an email response we received regarding this petition.]”

Teisha Hase

Chico Unified School Board - Area 3

“February 6, 2026 trustees voted unanimously to change Board Policy so that the usage of “facial recognition and AI models” was permanently banned in CUSD February 16, 2026 the Board sought input from all parties at the regular Board meeting April 22, 2026 we held a public forum for further discussion and stakeholder input on what camera features should be enabled ("disabled" or "off" is the default setting on the cameras) May 20, 2026 the Board voted unanimously to leave another feature of the cameras in the default OFF mode because it used AI, but opted to enable vehicle identification, which according to our IT Dept. identifies details such as color and vehicle model to identify vehicles across cameras, but does not employ ALPR technology. [Note: The Change.org Civic Engagement Team reaches out to decision makers to let them know about petitions in their community and to help facilitate engagement with supporters. The above was an email response we received regarding this petition.]”