New York City will ban students from using artificial intelligence (AI) in public schools through the eighth grade, typically covering children aged 13 or 14.
The city’s mayor announced the policy on Wednesday, September 2, saying it was designed to protect children’s education and mental health.
The ban will take effect next week as part of a sweeping overhaul of technology use across the United States’ largest school district, which serves roughly 900,000 students.
Under the new policy, students will also be kept off laptops and tablets through the third grade, when they are typically nine or 10 years old.
New York City’s public school technology policies are closely watched across the United States.
The decision comes amid growing concerns from teachers and parents about the use of AI instructional software in schools. Critics have warned that excessive reliance on AI could affect children’s mental health and cognitive development by encouraging them to outsource reasoning to software, a phenomenon researchers have described as “cognitive surrender.” Concerns have also been raised about the environmental impact of AI.
Under the new rules, students will only be permitted to use AI from high school, which begins in ninth grade in the US education system. Even then, its use will be restricted to specific purposes, including learning about the technology itself.
AI “companion chatbots” designed to provide psychological or emotional support will also be prohibited.
Teachers will still be allowed to use AI for tasks such as preparing lessons and drafting messages. However, they will not be permitted to use AI to grade students’ assignments.
The city’s Education Department has also recommended limiting screen time to 45 minutes per class for middle school students in sixth through eighth grade, and 30 minutes for elementary school students.
However, questions remain about how the authorities will monitor students’ use of AI, particularly because much of it takes place outside the school environment.
The new rules follow an initial framework released in March that introduced a traffic-light system for determining how and when AI could be used by students.
In 2023, the school system banned students from using ChatGPT, but the restriction was reversed less than a year later.
The 2026 framework, which permitted students to use AI for research, exploration and creative projects, sparked criticism from many parents and teachers who considered the policy too lenient.
Responding to the backlash, the city’s schools chancellor, Kamar Samuels, acknowledged that school leaders had “missed the mark” in communicating the policy. He said his office would carefully review feedback from parents and consider it when developing future rules on AI use in schools.
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