Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels announce AI moratorium for New York City public schools
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels announced a one-year moratorium on student-facing generative artificial intelligence (AI) for students in grades 2-K through eighth grade. The policy, which affects nearly 600,000 students, will begin in the 2026-2027 academic year. While younger students are barred from using AI tools, high school students will have restricted access, including five limited AI pilots and twice-yearly literacy classes focused on critical thinking and ethics. Teachers remain permitted to use AI for administrative tasks and lesson planning, though it is prohibited for grading student work or monitoring behavior. The policy also introduces staggered screen time limits, capping daily use for students in grades 3 through 5 at 30 minutes and for grades 6 through 8 at 45 minutes. Mayor Zohran Mamdani stated that the city wants to ensure technology serves learning rather than becoming a distraction. The administration announced that the next year will be used to study the impacts of this technology on students' development.
Sources
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New York City Public Schools banning AI use through middle school starting this year
abcnews.com
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NYC schools ban AI for students through eighth grade under new Mamdani policy
ABC7 New York
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Mayor Mamdani and Chancellor Samuels Put Students First with Nation’s Broadest Generative AI Moratorium in Schools
NYC.gov