New York City has announced a ban on students’ use of artificial intelligence in public schools through the eighth grade, typically covering children aged 13 or 14.
The policy, announced on Wednesday, September 2, will take effect next week and is part of a broader overhaul of technology use across the city’s public school system, the largest in the United States, serving about 900,000 students.
Under the new rules, students will also be kept off laptops and tablets through the third grade, when children are typically nine or 10 years old.
The city’s technology policies are closely watched across the United States, as educators and parents continue to debate the impact of artificial intelligence and digital devices on children’s education and wellbeing.
Teachers and parents have raised concerns that excessive reliance on AI could affect children’s mental health and cognitive development, particularly by encouraging students to outsource reasoning and problem-solving to software.
The use of AI will be permitted from ninth grade, when students enter high school, but only for approved purposes, including learning about the technology itself.
AI-powered “companion chatbots” designed to provide psychological or emotional support will also be prohibited.
Teachers, however, will be allowed to use AI for certain administrative and instructional tasks, such as preparing lesson plans and drafting messages. They will not be permitted to use AI to grade students’ assignments.
The city’s Department of Education is also recommending that screen time during lessons be limited to 45 minutes for middle school students in grades six through eight and 30 minutes for elementary school pupils.
However, enforcing the AI restrictions could prove difficult because students can access artificial intelligence tools outside school, including through personal devices.
The new policy follows an initial framework introduced in March that used a traffic-light system to determine when and how students could use AI.
In 2023, New York City’s public school system initially banned students from using ChatGPT, but the restriction was reversed less than a year later.
The 2026 framework subsequently allowed students to use AI for research, exploration and creative projects. However, the policy faced strong criticism from parents and teachers who considered it too permissive.
Responding to the backlash, New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels acknowledged that education officials had “missed the mark” in communicating the policy.
He said his office would carefully consider feedback from parents and incorporate relevant concerns into future rules governing technology and artificial intelligence in schools.
The latest restrictions reflect growing efforts by education authorities to balance the potential benefits of AI with concerns over children’s learning, development and mental health.
