US: New York City Mayor Mamdani announces ban on AI for younger students

New York City's public schools will temporarily ban generative AI tools for elementary and middle school students during the upcoming school year, according to Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The one-year moratorium applies to students through eighth grade, affecting around 600,000 public school students. The policy targets about 40 educational AI tools currently used in classrooms and bans companion chatbots across all grade levels.

High school students will be exempt from the full ban, but the city will offer AI literacy classes for them twice a year and conduct pilot programs with select AI platforms under teacher supervision. Teachers are still allowed to use AI for lesson planning and administrative tasks.

Mayor Mamdani emphasized the importance of human connection in education, stating that children need teachers and human interaction to learn and grow. The policy aligns with the district's teaching ideals, urging students to question, challenge assumptions, and think critically. New York's move aligns with other school districts across the country as they weigh the benefits and risks of generative AI in classrooms.

Los Angeles Unified, the second-largest school district in the US, is also temporarily blocking generative AI tools on student devices while developing a formal policy.

New York's ban is paired with recommended screen time limits: 30 minutes daily for grades three to five and 45 minutes for grades six to eight. The city will conduct a review of education technology tools to eliminate nonessential ones. At least 37 states have some form of AI guidance for schools, but no consistent national standard exists for AI literacy instruction.

Reactions from education and advocacy groups have been mixed, with some supporting screen time limits but questioning the policy's comprehensiveness and the adequacy of safeguards in AI tools.