NYC schools address AI in class

System bans generative AI use for students through 8th grade

New York City's public schools will temporarily ban elementary and middle school students from using generative 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 will establish 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 Los Angeles school district, where students returned to classrooms in mid-August, is temporarily blocking access to generative AI tools on student devices across all grades.

The Los Angeles Unified School District said Wednesday that the ban will remain in place across the country's second-largest school district as officials develop a student AI policy during the school year.

In June, LAUSD became the first major school district to eliminate the use of school-issued devices for its youngest students as part of a sweeping screen time policy. The policy banned devices before second grade, set screen time limits for all grades and blocked YouTube and other social media sites during the school day.

In New York, the city will also recommend screen time limits for students, suggesting a daily cap of 30 minutes for students in grades three through five and 45 minutes for those in grades six through eight. Teachers will be allowed to use AI for instructional planning and operational tasks.