Mamdani won't allow ChatGPT in NYC schools? Why students through 8th grade face generative AI tools ban

New York City's public school system will temporarily prohibit eighth-grade students from using generative AI tools during the upcoming school year, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Wednesday as the nation's largest school district adopts a stricter stance on AI in classrooms. The one-year moratorium applies to student-facing software that utilizes generative AI, described by the city as the most extensive prohibition of its kind in the country.

While teachers will be allowed to use AI for instructional planning and certain operational tasks, younger students will face these restrictions. The city plans to introduce AI literacy classes twice a year for all public high school students and launch pilot programs allowing selected high school students to use AI platforms under educator supervision.

However, companion chatbots will be prohibited across all grades. Mamdani emphasized schools' responsibility to apply the same critical thinking to AI as they do to other subjects. The city is also recommending daily screen time limits, with three to five-grade students capped at 30 minutes and six to eight-grade students at 45 minutes.

Education officials will review and remove nonessential technology tools from use. This move follows similar actions by the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest school district in the US, which temporarily blocked generative AI access on student devices. New York's decision comes as school districts nationwide grapple with how to introduce AI without promoting cheating or excessive reliance on the technology.

At least 37 states have issued guidance on AI use in schools, though there is no nationwide consensus on AI literacy or teaching methods.