Overview
- New York City announced the moratorium on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, instituting a one‑year ban on student‑facing generative AI for 2‑K through eighth grade that will take effect at the start of the 2026–27 school year.
- The policy covers roughly 600,000 students, prohibits companion chatbots across all grades, and allows limited, teacher‑supervised AI pilots and twice‑yearly AI literacy classes for high schoolers.
- For younger students the city set device and screen limits: no individual devices through second grade, recommended caps of 30 minutes per day for grades 3–5 and 45 minutes per day for grades 6–8.
- Teachers may use approved AI for lesson planning, translation, and drafting communications but may not use AI for grading, behavior monitoring, counseling, or special‑education planning, and assistive tools for students with disabilities and English learners are excepted.
- City officials will audit and disable generative‑AI features in approved software, remove products whose AI cannot be turned off, and may extend or revise the moratorium after reviewing vendor compliance, classroom impacts and community feedback.