Mayor Mamdani and Chancellor Samuels Put Students First with Nation’s Broadest Generative AI Moratorium in Schools

 

Representing the most expansive student-facing AI policy in the country, the Mamdani administration prioritizes student safety and real, human instruction  

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar H. Samuels today announced a moratorium on student-facing generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) use in schools, alongside a new screen time policy, a decision that will impact nearly 600,000 public school students, or two-thirds of the system’s total enrollment. The policy establishes a one-year moratorium, effective in the 2026-2027 school year, on student-facing generative AI for children in 2-K through 8th grade. It also introduces twice-yearly AI critical thinking modules for high schoolers, limited AI pilots for a small number of high school classrooms and age-appropriate screen time restrictions.  

  

“Children need teachers and human connection in order to learn and grow. They need to develop skills alongside their peers, build relationships with educators and wrestle with tough problems on their own,” said Mayor Mamdani. “The tech industry wants us to believe that A.I.-powered early education is not only inevitable, but necessary. We do not see it that way. That’s why we’re implementing a moratorium on generative AI for students in 2-K through 8th grade and spending the next year studying the impacts of this technology.”

 

“We have a responsibility to ensure that rapidly-changing technology supports our children and their learning, rather than getting in the way of it,” said Governor Kathy Hochul. “New York State has been leading the way in our efforts to keep kids focused on learning and growing — not clicking and scrolling — and I commend Mayor Mamdani for building on this work and pushing our shared commitment to supporting New York’s kids forward.”    

  

“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,” said Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels. “We’re putting guardrails in place to protect the human connection, curiosity and creativity that help children grow. We’re standing firmly in our belief that innovation does not mean more technology, and over the next year, we will lead with evidence to make sure technology serves learning — not the other way around.”   

  

Representing the most expansive student-facing AI moratorium in the nation, the new policy eliminates AI use for students in grades 2-K through 8th grade. This includes all software that uses student-facing generative AI. Companion chatbots will be prohibited across all grades.   

  

Throughout the 2026-27 school year, a new Technology in Schools Coalition, made up of students, educators, parent leaders, elected officials, advocates, union partners and experts in the field will convene to assess the impact of the moratorium and limited pilots. The coalition will publish a report with recommendations for future school years.    

  

For a maximum of 50,000 high school students in general education classes, or approximately 5% of the public-school student body, five limited AI pilots will be introduced. All high school students will also have access to twice-yearly AI literacy classes designed to help them think critically about AI before they begin to rely on it.   

  

The two 45-minute modules will introduce students to what AI is and is not, as well as AI-related bias, risks, ethical considerations and impacts on careers and future skills.   

  

The limited pilots will be offered at a maximum of five classes per high school. All use will take place under the direct supervision of a trained educator and will involve carefully vetted AI tools. The pilots were selected based on rigorous safety and data privacy standards, their focus on teacher-guided instruction and their commitment to keeping students as the primary thinker in the classroom.   

  

Pilot programs include:  

  

•    Quill: Accessed by English language arts classrooms, Quill is designed to support close reading, text analysis and the use of evidence to support claims. Students will use Quill for no more than 15 minutes per week.   

•    Edia: Accessed by math classrooms, Edia is designed to provide step-by-step coaching and prompt students to explain their reasoning. Students will use Edia for no more than 20 minutes per week.  

•    Brisk Teaching: Accessed through teacher-created activities, Brisk Teaching is designed to provide guided practice using teacher-selected texts or videos, with objectives and guardrails set by the teacher. Students will use Brisk Boost for 10 to 20 minutes once or twice per week.  

•    Playlab: To be used across multiple subjects, Playlab is designed to help students engage with assignment-specific applications and examine AI outputs for bias and reasoning. No more than two assignments per marking period will use Playlab.  

•    Intel AI-Ready Schools: To be used across multiple subjects, Intel AI-Ready Schools is designed to help students identify community problems and develop AI solutions through semester-long projects. Students will use the tool for one period per week.  

  

Teachers will continue to be permitted to use AI for instructional planning and operational tasks, provided all tools comply with NYCPS safety standards. Exceptions to the policy will be granted for assistive technology usage by students with disabilities, multilingual learners and students participating in career readiness programs, like computer science.   

  

With this new policy, students in 2nd grade and below will see restricted 1:1 screen time, with recommended caps of 30 minutes a day for students in 3rd grade through 5th grade and 45 minutes for students in 6th grade through 8th grade.   

  

Under the new policy, all technology tools used in NYCPS will undergo an exhaustive review and will be barred if their functionality is ultimately determined not to be mission-critical to learning. The review will include vendor accountability for safety and transparency standards, ethics, evidence of learning design and instructional impact, prior research and the continuous collection of user feedback.