New York City public schools will ban the use of AI for all students below the high school level. #
New York City public schools will ban the use of AI for all students below the high school level, according to multiple reports.
Politico detailed that the ban will affect 600,000 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. They won't be allowed to use generative AI.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement to ABC News that the city would spend the next year "studying the impacts of this technology." Mamdani added that "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."
The policy also would set strict limits on the use of individual screens in classes. For prekindergarten through second grade, such devices would not be allowed, while third through fifth graders could have 30 minutes of screen time. The time would increase to 45 minutes for middle school students.
High schoolers will face restrictions on AI use, but the policy will make exceptions for assistive technology for students with disabilities. There will also be exceptions related to English language learners.
The AI ban comes after the release in March of a draft AI policy that some criticized as not going far enough on the issue. That policy broke AI use into red, yellow, and green sections and was meant to provide guidance on how AI could be used by teachers and district staff.
Under those guidelines, red areas would never be used for AI and included things like student assessment, grading, and development of special education plans. Yellow areas were where educators could use AI but should proceed with caution, and included things like using AI to assist with bilingual instruction.
Green were areas where AI could be used by educators and included things like brainstorming and organizing or helping create accessible materials. The guidance was expected to be released in June, but that was delayed following criticism that the policy did not go far enough.
Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels told Politico that the draft guidance had "missed the mark." Samuels told the website that principals were delaying any purchases of educational software while the Department of Education reviewed the guidance.
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