At least 16 students in the San Diego Unified School District have damaged their school-issued laptops as part of a TikTok trend known as the "Chromebook Challenge," prompting district officials to ask families for help in stopping what they call a troubling trend.
Why it matters
- San Diego Unified issues new Chromebooks to students in second, sixth and ninth grades
- The district said the 16 incidents occurred at three different schools
- Each Chromebook costs about $450 to replace
Closer look
The challenge involves inserting sharp objects — such as paper clips or pencil lead — into the USB ports of Chromebooks, which can cause the devices to spark or smoke.
Morse High School senior Joseph Cruz, a student school board member, urged his peers not to participate.
“It’s wasteful, dangerous, and everyone loses. I’m highly advising my classmates to not join in on this careless trend. We’re better than this,” Cruz wrote in a statement.
Discipline to students taking part in this trend is being handled at the school level.
