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11h ago

NYC Pauses Student‑Facing AI Through Middle School

Officials say studying classroom impacts will guide stricter rules to protect early childhood learning.

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A row of students ages 5-7 raising their hands while standing along a chain-link fence on a playground during recess at P.S. 111, a public school in Hell's Kitchen, New York City . | (Getty Images)
Student backpacks hang on the backs of classroom chairs at a New York City public schools on June 24, 2022.
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Overview

  • The city announced the policy Wednesday instituting a one‑year moratorium on student‑facing generative AI for 2‑K through eighth grade that will cover roughly 600,000 students for the 2026–27 school year.
  • Teachers may use vetted AI tools for tasks such as lesson planning, translation, and drafting communications but are barred from using AI to grade work, monitor behavior, counsel students, or make special‑education decisions.
  • The guidance bars giving individual devices to children through second grade and recommends daily screen‑time limits like about 30 minutes for grades 3–5 and 45 minutes for middle school while exempting centrally approved programs, computer‑based assessments, assistive technology, and English‑learner supports.
  • High schools will see limited, vetted pilots and twice‑yearly AI‑literacy instruction for students and the DOE will create a task force to oversee rollout, though officials have not yet detailed enforcement mechanisms or how to handle existing vendor software with built‑in AI.
  • The decision follows months of parent activism and City Council pressure after earlier, looser guidance and could push the district’s large purchasing power to reshape edtech products while leaving open how students’ out‑of‑school access to AI will be addressed.