New York City is expected to introduce new regulations on the use of artificial intelligence in schools when they resume next week. AI will reportedly be banned in public schools through eighth grade, typically for students ages 13 or 14, according to the new policy. The announcement is expected to be made by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels.
Under the plan, New York City public schools would impose a one-year pause on students using AI until they reach high school. This would affect about 600,000 young learners.
The mandate would also restrict the use of devices such as laptops and tablets, with students from preschool through second grade not being allowed to use them in class. There would also be time limits for students in third through eighth grades.
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This comes amid increasing backlash over the use of AI in classrooms. According to a report by The Guardian, teachers and parents have warned against the use of AI instructional software in schools over concerns about harming children’s mental health and cognitive development, in particular an abdication of reasoning to software, a phenomenon researchers have dubbed “cognitive surrender,” as well as environmental damage. Mamdani has been quoted as saying that despite the push from the tech industry, AI-powered early education is not inevitable.
Leaders in the Department of Education have reportedly spent months putting together a guidebook on AI in the classroom that includes feedback from lawmakers, tech companies and parents. Previously, the school chancellor said the guardrails would protect the “human connection, curiosity and creativity that help children grow.”
According to the new rules, AI use would be permitted in high school. Even then, it would be limited to specific uses, such as learning about the technology itself.
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The policy would also ban “companion chatbots” offering psychological support. The rules allow teachers to use AI for tasks including preparing lessons or writing messages, but they cannot use it for grading assignments.
The new rules follow an initial framework published in March, which used a traffic-light system to determine which tasks AI could be used for. In 2023, the school system forbade students’ use of ChatGPT, though the ban was reversed less than a year later.
The 2026 framework, which allowed students to use AI for research, exploration and creative projects, sparked backlash from many teachers and parents who saw it as too lenient.