NYC, the nation’s largest school district, bans AI for students through 8th grade

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s public schools will temporarily ban students in elementary and middle schools from using artificial intelligence tools in the upcoming school year, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Wednesday.

The one-year moratorium — part of a wider assessment of how children in the nation’s largest school district interact with the technology — will include “all software that uses student-facing generative AI” for students in grades through 8th grade, the mayor’s office said. It described the policy as the most expansive prohibition in the country.

At the same time, the city is establishing twice-yearly AI literacy classes for all public high school students, and it will set up pilots for some high schoolers to introduce them to a handful of AI platforms under the supervision of an educator. Companion chatbots will be prohibited across all grades, officials said.

The approach comes as students, parents and schools across the country are attempting to navigate the use of AI tools in the classroom and elsewhere, moving to teach kids to how to incorporate the technology while also stopping them from overly relying on it or using it to cheat.

“Each day when our children come to school we teach them to ask questions, to challenge assumptions, to interrogate the premise, to ask why. When it comes to AI in our schools, we hold an obligation to do the same,” Mamdani, a Democrat, said at a news conference.

The city will also recommend screen time limits for students, suggesting a cap of 30 minutes a day for students in grades three to five and 45 minutes for students between 6th and 8th grade. Teachers will be allowed to use AI for instructional planning and operational tasks.

At least 37 states have official AI guidance that schools can use as a blueprint, though the isn’t a single definition of what AI literacy means or how it should be taught. New York state last year approved a ban on students’ use of cellphones in schools.

City education officials will also perform a wide review of all technology tools used in its school system and will eliminate certain tools if they are determined to be not essential to learning.

Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers in New York, praised the screen time limits but said the city’s AI policy “leaves many questions unanswered,” including details on how the education department “will be more aggressive in demanding the products it purchases have AI safeguards.”

“If we are going to be serious, let’s start at the source, rather than expect school communities or individual educators to figure out after the fact if what their school uses fits the new policy,” he said.

New York City’s public school students are scheduled return to the classroom next week.