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- NYC imposed a one-year AI moratorium for elementary and middle schools.
- High schoolers will take AI literacy courses and get limited access to approved AI tools.
- NYC will disable AI features in 38 previously approved educational programs.
Generative AI has been suspended by New York City's schools.
The city's Department of Education imposed a one-year moratorium on the use of AI by students in elementary and middle school classrooms, officials said on Wednesday.
High school students, meanwhile, will take a required "AI literacy course" and will have access to AI programs in specific educational contexts, said the city's schools chancellor, Kamar Samuels.
"The tech industry wants us to believe that AI in early education is not only inevitable, but that it is necessary," Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a press conference in Brooklyn. "We do not see it that way."
Under the new guidelines, generative AI programs will be either blocked or deleted from school software. Ailish Brady, an education advisor in the mayor's office, said the city would also disable AI features in 38 previously approved educational programs or stop using products whose AI features can't be turned off.
The policy also sets daily limits on personal device screen time for children — 30 minutes for kids in third through fifth grade, and 45 minutes for middle school students, Samuels said.
The AI ban will impact about 600,000 students, about two-thirds of the school system's student population, which is the largest in the country.
Mamdani said school officials will evaluate the policy's effectiveness and results after the 2026-2027 school year. He drew a distinction between younger students and high schoolers, who he said need to be prepared for a world increasingly shaped by AI.
"Whether we like it or not, our teenagers are growing up in an AI-saturated world. We cannot pretend that that world does not exist," he said. "It would be irresponsible not to prepare our children for the fast-evolving technological future that lies ahead."
High schoolers
New York City's AI pause for schools comes amid a public reckoning over how best to expose children to generative AI, as educators across the country bemoan how students are using the technology to cheat on assignments and parents petition for more restrictions.
The AIM Coalition, a group of parents, teachers, and activists in New York, has called on the city to institute a two-year AI moratorium in public schools. In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Alexis Kaloyanides, a member of the group, called the new policy "an important first step," but added that "we're far from done with this fight."
In March, the city's school system released guidance for the use of AI in classrooms. Those guidelines permitted students to use AI for research, exploration, and creative projects, provided its use was age-appropriate and guided by educators.
Officials said on Wednesday that the new moratorium was informed by feedback from students and teachers. Mamdani said the ban is the most "comprehensive of its kind anywhere in the country."
Microsoft, which in 2023 announced a partnership with New York City Public Schools "to support their exploration of the development of generative AI tools," did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
OpenAI, whose ChatGPT platform is widely used by students, also did not respond to a request for comment sent on Wednesday.
"This moratorium is a commitment to getting the future right," Mamdani said.
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