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New York City is expected to release its school policy for artificial intelligence on Wednesday, with a ban on student-facing AI tools for 2-K through eighth grade, according to four people briefed on the plans and Education Department documents obtained by Chalkbeat.
Under the new rules, the youngest children in the nation’s largest school system — those in its early childhood programs, elementary schools, and middle schools — would not have access to generative AI, including chatbots and AI tutors, sources said.
The guidelines bar schools from giving individual devices to students in preschools through second grade, though classrooms will be allowed to have smart boards, sources said. For students in grades 3 to 5, the policy recommends limiting screen time on individual devices to 30 minutes and 45 minutes for middle school students.
High schoolers are expected to have restricted access to AI, but might be able to use it for literacy, career readiness programs, and in five pilot programs at an unspecified number of schools, according to the Daily News, which was first to report on the new policy. Screen time recommendations depend on subject matter and school approach.
The restrictions would represent a significantly more aggressive stance against AI and screen time in schools than the city had taken. Education leaders across the country are likely to be watching as they also grapple with how students should interact with the fast-changing technology.
“Younger students need hands-on learning, social interaction, play, and teacher-guided instruction,” Education Department officials wrote in a presentation outlining the policy obtained by Chalkbeat. “Routine individual screen use can crowd out those experiences.”
In high school, the presentation continued, “students need guided preparation for a world and economy increasingly driven by AI and new technologies -paired with instruction on how AI works, its biases and risks, and how to evaluate its outputs.”
Teachers will be allowed to use approved AI tools for such instructional tasks as lesson planning, translation, and drafting communications, according to the presentation. They will not be allowed to use the technology for grading, behavior monitoring, counseling, or developing special education plans.
City officials are in the process of creating a task force that will offer input on the policy’s implementation going forward, multiple people briefed on the Education Department’s plans said.
An Education Department spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
Multiple people said there would be some exceptions to the policy to account for regular assessments in reading and math that students typically complete on computers, as well as for some student groups, including English language learners and students with disabilities.
When the city unveiled its preliminary AI guidelines in March, the backlash was swift and fierce, forcing the city to rethink its approach and delay its timeline for a comprehensive policy by about two months, leaving little time for schools to prepare for the change before the first day on Sept. 10. It’s unclear how the Education Department plans to enforce the policy.
The initial guidance used a traffic-light framework to delineate risk levels of different AI uses in the classroom, mainly by teachers. Student AI use — one of the thorniest issues educators and families are currently confronting — got little attention.
The city seemed caught off guard by the momentum of grassroots parent groups calling for an AI moratorium, with thousands of people signing a petition to stop the use of generative AI in schools and scores voicing their concerns at school board meetings.
More than half of City Council members signed a letter urging Mayor Zohran Mamdani and schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels to pause AI use in schools, citing concerns about learning and mental health. Samuels acknowledged in May that the city had “missed the mark” with its initial guidance, indicating that the final version would have more stringent rules on AI use, especially for younger students.
In July, as the city hashed out its new guidance, Samuels told schools to pause the software purchases until officials released the new policy, causing headaches for some principals who worried they would not have access to key software programs, such as electronic gradebooks and platforms to communicate with families, when welcoming students back to school next week.
Alex Zimmerman is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.
Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.
