“Children need teachers and human connection in order to learn and grow,” Mamdani said. “They need to develop skills alongside their peers, build relationships with educators and wrestle with tough problems on their own.”
The administration described the policy as the most extensive student-facing AI moratorium in the country. Mamdani said the city will use the coming school year to study how the technology affects learning rather than making generative AI a standard part of elementary and middle school education.
The restrictions are paired with new limits on individual device use. Students in second grade and below will face tighter controls on one-to-one screen time. For third through fifth grade, the city is recommending a maximum of 30 minutes a day, while students in sixth through eighth grade would have a recommended cap of 45 minutes.
High school students will be treated differently. All high schoolers will receive two 45-minute AI literacy modules each year covering how AI works, bias, risks, ethical questions and potential effects on careers and future skills.
The city will also allow five limited AI pilots involving no more than 50,000 high school students in general education classes, representing about 5% of the public school population. Participation will be capped at five classes per high school, and students will use the tools only while supervised by trained educators.
The approved pilots include Quill for English language arts, Edia for math, Brisk Teaching for teacher-designed exercises, Playlab for assignment-specific AI activities and Intel AI-Ready Schools for longer projects focused on community problems and AI-based solutions.
Each program comes with its own usage restrictions. Quill will be limited to 15 minutes a week, while Edia can be used for no more than 20 minutes weekly. Brisk Boost will be available for 10 to 20 minutes once or twice each week. Playlab can be used for no more than two assignments during each marking period, and Intel AI-Ready Schools will be limited to one class period per week.
The city said the pilots were chosen using safety, privacy and instructional criteria designed to keep teachers in control and students responsible for the core thinking involved in their work.
“As Chancellor and as a parent, I believe our job is to protect what makes learning work, while ensuring every child has the critical thinking skills they need before graduating,” Samuels said.
New York City will evaluate the policy through a newly created Technology in Schools Coalition made up of students, educators, parent leaders, elected officials, advocates, union representatives and experts. The group will review the moratorium and pilot programs during the 2026-27 school year before publishing recommendations for future policy.
The city is also planning a broader review of technology already used across its public schools. Tools that are not considered essential to learning could be removed, with vendors assessed on factors including safety, transparency, ethics, instructional design, evidence of impact, prior research and user feedback.
Mamdani said the city will discontinue or disable AI features in more than 38 previously approved programs that fail to meet the new standards. That includes Amira, an AI-powered reading tutor, according to additional reporting provided with the announcement.
The policy arrives as New York City again reconsiders how much AI should be allowed in classrooms. The school system previously blocked access to ChatGPT on Department of Education devices and networks in 2023 before later reversing that decision.
This time, the city is taking a more targeted approach by separating younger students from high schoolers rather than imposing the same rules across every grade. “We’re putting guardrails in place to protect the human connection, curiosity and creativity that help children grow,” Samuels said. “We’re standing firmly in our belief that innovation does not mean more technology.”
The plan has drawn support from several state and local officials, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, who said schools have a responsibility to ensure that technology helps rather than interferes with learning. Other supporters pointed to the policy’s screen time limits and emphasis on teacher-guided AI use.
Some education and technology advocates, however, are pushing the city to go further. The United Federation of Teachers said the policy needs stronger requirements for evaluating the AI safeguards built into products purchased by the school system. Other lawmakers and advocacy groups have questioned whether the high school pilots should begin before more evaluation standards are established.
The AI Moratorium for NYC Schools Coalition has called for a two-year pause instead of one year and has raised concerns about the policy’s exceptions and the fact that its screen time caps are recommendations rather than mandatory limits.
Mamdani said the one-year period is intended to give the city time to examine the policy before deciding whether to extend or change it. Samuels acknowledged that the approach will likely draw criticism from both those who want AI removed more broadly and those who want schools to adopt it more quickly.
“I know there will be some who think, ‘Well, we didn’t go far enough,’” Samuels said. “Or we didn’t move faster with AI in schools. There are others who will think there’s no place for AI in a classroom. I understand both instincts. But I don’t believe either serves our students well.”
This analysis is based on reporting from NYC.
Image courtesy of Ed Reed Mayoral Photography Office.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
