Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels announced a one year moratorium on student facing generative AI for pupils from 2K through grade 8. The policy takes effect for the 2026 to 2027 school year and also restricts routine individual screen use in younger grades.
The city says the policy affects nearly 600,000 pupils, about two thirds of public school enrolment. Companion chatbots are prohibited across all grades. The restriction is narrower than a ban on every computer, tablet or form of artificial intelligence in school.
High school use follows a different rule. Schools may apply for five centrally approved pilots, students may use certain tools in supervised career programmes and all high school pupils must complete two 45 minute AI literacy modules.
The policy has important exceptions. Assistive technology required through an Individualized Education Program or 504 Plan remains available, and students with disabilities and multilingual learners may continue using necessary support tools.
NYC Public Schools has also issued family guidance before pupils return for the new school year. It directs families to the full policy and repeats that the moratorium applies throughout the 2026 to 2027 school year.
What is banned through grade 8
Software with student facing generative AI is not permitted from 2K through grade 8. That means younger pupils should not be prompted to ask a chatbot to produce text, images, answers or other classroom content for them.
The rule applies to generative AI presented directly to pupils. Teacher led use of computers, tablets and interactive displays remains allowed for whole class or small group instruction. Teachers may also use approved AI for planning and operational work.
Staff use is not unrestricted. NYC Public Schools says AI may not be used for grading, behaviour monitoring, placement, promotion, graduation or other decisions about pupils. Teachers remain responsible for accuracy and professional judgment.
How high school use will work
The five approved pilots are Quill, Edia, Brisk Teaching, Playlab and Intel AI Ready Schools. A high school must apply, each application is reviewed separately and a pupil may take part in only one pilot.
City Hall says the pilots can reach no more than 50,000 high school students in general education classes, about five percent of the full public school population, and no more than five classes in each high school. Use must take place under a trained teacher's supervision.
Career and Technical Education, FutureReadyNYC and other career programmes may use approved tools where they are needed for workplace skills. All high school pupils must complete two 45 minute modules covering how AI works, privacy, bias, appropriate school use and critical thinking.
The separate screen time rules
The policy removes routine individual screen use for pupils from 2K through grade 2. For grades 3 through 5 it recommends no more than 30 minutes a day, and for grades 6 through 8 it recommends no more than 45 minutes a day.
Those limits do not cover every use of a screen. Exceptions include assistive technology, assessments, remote instruction and centrally approved teaching such as electronic books, robotics, coding and simulations.
The word recommended matters. The daily caps for grades 3 through 8 are guidance, while the student facing generative AI moratorium is a direct prohibition. Public reporting should keep those two rules separate.
Accessibility and student data
Required accessibility tools remain available even when they use screens or AI. The relevant IEP or 504 team decides what an individual pupil needs. The policy also protects necessary tools used by multilingual learners.
NYC Public Schools reviews education technology through its Enterprise Request Management Application process. Vendors must explain what student data they collect, how they protect it and how they comply with state privacy law.
The city says it will expand that review beyond privacy and security to include bias, equity and instructional effectiveness. That promise needs published standards and results so families can see why one product was admitted and another was removed.
What happens after the moratorium
A Technology in Schools Coalition is meant to include pupils, educators, parents, unions, advocates, elected officials and specialists. It will assess the moratorium and high school pilots during the school year and publish recommendations.
The city should define success before the pilots begin. Measures should include student learning, overreliance, teacher workload, accessibility, data protection, bias, complaints and whether the tools preserve independent thinking.
A one year pause creates room to gather evidence. It does not by itself prove that every restricted tool is harmful or that every approved pilot is useful. The final decision should follow published evidence rather than pressure from technology vendors or a predetermined political position.
Public record
- Publish the complete list of products and AI functions disabled or removed from schools.
- Name the schools and classes approved for each high school pilot and notify participating families.
- Publish the pilot evaluation plan, baseline measures and results for each approved tool.
- Report accessibility exceptions without exposing personal information about pupils.
- Publish the Technology in Schools Coalition membership, meeting dates and final recommendations.
- State what policy will apply after the 2026 to 2027 school year before the moratorium expires.
What to check next
Use the NYC Public Schools guidance to check the rule for a pupil's grade and any accessibility exception.
Tell families when a pupil joins an approved high school pilot and which product will be used.
Publish every approved vendor's privacy, security and instructional review in a usable public register.
Compare learning, workload, complaints and independent work before deciding what follows the moratorium.