NYC Bans AI for Public School Students Through Eighth Grade

New York City will ban the use of artificial intelligence for all public school students from preschool through eighth grade, implementing a one-year moratorium on the technology for nearly 600,000 children. The policy, announced by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Department of Education on September 2, 2026, represents one of the most restrictive classroom technology rules in the nation and takes effect when schools reopen on September 10. Under the new guidelines, generative AI will be prohibited for instruction and tutoring for all students below high school. Even in high school, AI use will be limited to specific educational purposes such as learning about the technology itself. The mandate also introduces significant restrictions on personal device use. Students in preschool through second grade will not be permitted to use individual devices like laptops or tablets in class. For students in third through eighth grades, screen time will be capped at 45 minutes for middle schoolers and 30 minutes for elementary students. Teachers, however, are not subject to the same ban. They may continue to use AI tools for tasks such as lesson planning, drafting communications, and translation.