While more schools across the United States are bringing AI into classrooms, New York City is taking a more cautious approach.
On Wednesday, September 2, the city’s Department of Education announced new guidelines restricting the use of student-facing generative AI for students from elementary school through eighth grade.
The policy, announced by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, is being described as the city’s first comprehensive AI policy for public schools. Its focus is not to keep AI out of education entirely, but to place limits on when and how students can use it, with greater emphasis on teacher-led learning and human connection in the earlier grades.
“Children need their teachers and human connection to learn and to grow,” Mamdani said at a press conference.
But the restriction comes with an important exception. High school students will still be introduced to AI through two AI literacy courses each year and will be allowed to use selected AI programs in specific educational settings under the supervision of educators. Companion chatbots, however, will be banned across all grades.
The move comes as the AIM Coalition, a group of parents advocating for caution around AI in educational spaces, calls for a two-year moratorium on artificial intelligence implementation in New York City public schools.
David Adubiina
How the policy will work
According to the new guidelines, “all software that uses student-facing generative AI” will be prohibited for students through eighth grade, but once they reach high school, that changes. Students will be able to use a limited number of AI platforms, but only within specific educational contexts and under an educator’s supervision.
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