The San Diego Unified School District is joining a growing chorus of warnings about a TikTok trend that encourages students to set their laptops on fire.
The trend known as the "Chromebook Challenge" involves teens jamming sharp objects into the USB port of their laptop, causing them to short-circuit and, in some cases, catch fire, according to NBC News.
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WATCH HEREThe warning comes after at least 16 incidents involving district-owned laptops, they said. The district said students were disciplined according to district policy, but did not elaborate.
The SDUSD school year ends at the end of the month but Chromebooks are assigned to all students at the 2nd, 6th and 9th grade levels and are expected to last until their next issuance. The district said each laptop costs $445 to replace.
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SIGN UP The district solicited two student trustees with the Board of Education to speak directly to their peers. Trustee Joseph Cruz said the trend was unsafe while trustee Quinton Baldis called it "just plain dumb."
"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," Baldis said.
The TikTok trend has ramped up across the U.S. and in at least one instance has led to arson charges in New Jersey and two criminal investigations in Arizona, NBC News reported.
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NBC News contributed to this report.
