New York City implements AI restrictions for K-12

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels launched a moratorium to combat artificial intelligence use in the classroom, along with a screen time policy for the 2026-27 school year. The policy will affect more than 600,000 public school students in the nation's largest school district. The AI restrictions will apply to students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. New York City currently has just over 900,000 students enrolled across its K-12 public school system. "Just because technology is everywhere doesn't mean that it belongs everywhere," Mamdani said during a press conference. "Children need their teachers and human connection in order to learn and in order to grow." The moratorium also introduces an AI literacy module for high school students twice a year. According to the Mayor's Office, the modules will cover "AI-related bias, risks, ethical considerations and impacts on careers and future skills." The Policy will also limit AI pilot programs for high schoolers. There will be five programs offered: Quill, Edia, Brisk Teaching, Playlab, and Intel AI Ready Schools, which will be available through pilot classrooms. The programs are designed to support instruction across subjects such as math and English language arts, encouraging students to think critically about the subject and have objective guardrails enforced by the teachers. Students below second grade will have restricted screen time, with a recommended cap of 30 minutes a day for students in third through fifth grade and 45 minutes for students in sixth through eighth grade. Mamdani noted that he was thankful for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul for implementing policies for restricting cell phone and social media use in classrooms. He emphasized that AI should not replace student-teacher interaction. "Whether we like it or not, our teenagers are growing up in an AI-saturated world. We cannot pretend that world does not exist," Mamdani said. "It would be irresponsible not to prepare our children for the fast-evolving technological world that lies ahead." During the press conference, Mamdani and Samuels emphasized that teachers will still be permitted to use AI for planning and various tasks. The Center Square reached out to the New York City Public Schools for comment, but the district not respond.