School Is Back in Session With New AI Limitations

The country’s largest Artificial Intelligence moratorium is officially underway in New York City Public School classrooms.

The initiative from Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar H. Samuels comes as an investment to foster human connection and critical thinking skills.

“Children need teachers and human connection in order to learn and grow. They need to develop skills alongside their peers, build relationships with educators and wrestle with tough problems on their own,” Mamdani said in a Sept. 2 statement. “The tech industry wants us to believe that A.I.-powered early education is not only inevitable, but necessary. We do not see it that way.”

To challenge this belief, the one-year moratorium impacts 600,000 students, eliminating AI use for 2-K through eighth grade students.

In addition to the student-facing generative AI ban, companion chatbots will be prohibited across all grade levels and age appropriate screen time limits and recommendations have been implemented.

Students in second grade and below now have individual screen time restrictions with recommended daily 30 minute limits for third, fourth and fifth grade students. Middle schoolers have a recommended daily restriction of 45 minutes.

“We’re putting guardrails in place to protect the human connection, curiosity and creativity that help children grow,” Samuels said in a Sept. 2 statement. “We’re standing firmly in our belief that innovation does not mean more technology, and over the next year, we will lead with evidence to make sure technology serves learning — not the other way around.” 

While not entirely impacted by the moratorium, high schoolers will now participate in bi-annual AI literacy classes to study the risks, ethical considerations and future impacts that AI could cause.

A limited number of high school classrooms – accounting for approximately 5% of the public-school student body – will also implement five AI pilot programs under the direct supervision of a trained educator.

The moratorium and high school pilot program comes after the launch of a 2025 statewide smartphone restriction at the direction of Governor Kathy Hochul.

“We have a responsibility to ensure that rapidly-changing technology supports our children and their learning, rather than getting in the way of it,” Hochul said in a Sept. 2 statement. “New York State has been leading the way in our efforts to keep kids focused on learning and growing — not clicking and scrolling — and I commend Mayor Mamdani for building on this work and pushing our shared commitment to supporting New York’s kids forward.”

According to the early-September announcement, Mamdani and Samuels have committed to spending the year studying the impacts of NYCPS technology. Over the course of the academic year, all technology tools used in classrooms are expected to undergo an exhaustive review and any technology deemed not to be mission-critical to learning will be barred.

“We know the purpose of AI companies,” Mamdani said during a Sept. 2 press conference. “Whether they are making sports betting models or an education tool, it is to produce a profit. Here in our New York City Public Schools, our purpose is our students. It does not matter how profitable a product is. If it doesn’t help our students learn and grow, we will not use that product.”

As part of the review, AI components of more than 38 previously allowed programs that do not meet new safety standards are expected to be fully discontinued or disabled.

To evaluate the moratorium’s effectiveness, a newly instituted Technology in Schools Coalition – made up of students, educators, parent leaders, elected officials, advocates, union partners and field experts – will meet throughout the year to assess the impact of the elimination and limited pilots.

The coalition will ultimately work to publish a report and recommendations for future consideration.  

“The AI policy set forth today protects the city’s youngest learners and prepares high school students to tackle the changing landscape they will graduate into,” said Councilwoman Rita Joseph, Higher Education Chair in a Sept. 2 statement. “This policy is appropriately careful and responsive to community voices. I look forward to working closely with the Technology in Schools Coalition to further develop this policy and ensure accountability.”

NYCPS teachers are still permitted to use AI for instructional planning and operational tasks, as long as tools comply with department safety standards. 

Moratorium exceptions will be granted for assistive technology usage for students with disabilities, multilingual learners and students  in career readiness programs, like computer science. 

While the future of AI in New York classrooms in coming academic years remains unknown, the finite moratorium was said to be designed to evaluate program success before considering further implementation.

“If we find over the course of this year that this policy needs to be extended, then we will extend it,” Mamdani said during a Sept 2 press conference. “If we find over the course of this year that there are amendments that need to be made, we will amend it.”