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

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

The one-year moratorium — part of a broader assessment of how children in the nation’s largest school system interact with the technology — will apply to “all software that uses student-facing generative AI” for students through eighth 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. It will also launch pilot programs allowing some high school students to use a handful of AI platforms under an educator’s supervision. Companion chatbots will be prohibited across all grades, officials said.

The approach comes as students, parents and schools across the country attempt to navigate the use of AI tools in the classroom and elsewhere. Schools are working to teach children how to incorporate the technology while preventing them from relying too heavily 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 through five and 45 minutes for students in grades six through eight. 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 there is no single definition of AI literacy or consensus on how it should be taught. New York state last year approved a ban on students’ use of cellphones in schools.

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City education officials will also conduct a broad review of all technology tools used in the school system and eliminate those deemed nonessential 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 how the Education Department “will be more aggressive in demanding the products it purchases have AI safeguards.”

Josh Golin, executive director of the children’s advocacy group Fairplay, said he would have preferred a longer moratorium and more time between the announcement and the start of the school year.

“A year to evaluate is not nearly enough time,” he said, adding that the onus should be on AI platforms “to demonstrate that their products are effective at teaching kids, that they’re safe, that they’re not displacing face-to-face interaction and that they’re not leading to rampant cheating.”

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