New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani just announced a one-year ban of generative AI tools in public schools for students up to eighth grade. The legislation takes effect during the 2026-2027 school year and will impact around 600,000 students.
"This moratorium is a commitment to getting the future right," Mayor Mamdani said. "We will embrace new technology, but only when it serves our students." New York Governor Kathy Hochul added that the state "has been leading the way in our efforts to keep kids focused on learning and growing, not clicking and scrolling."
Mayor Mamdani said this policy was made to protect human connection in classrooms. He suggested that kids should develop problem-solving and social skills via teachers and peers instead of chatbots.
Throughout the one-year ban, studies will be conducted to analyze the technology's impact on children. A coalition of educators, parents, and elected officials will recommend next steps after that.
This ban does not impact high schools. A number of high school classrooms will be allowed to participate in various AI pilot programs, though they will be closely monitored. All high school students will receive twice-yearly lessons designed to help them think critically about AI before they begin to rely on it.
Teachers will be able to use generative AI for lesson planning and administrative work, as long as the tools comply with public school safety standards. Additionally, there will be exceptions made for assistive technology usage by kids with disabilities, multilingual learners, and students participating in career readiness programs, including computer science.
Today's policy also introduces new screen time guidelines for children. This includes daily caps of 30 minutes for many elementary school students and 45 minutes for middle schoolers. These are just guidelines, and households can do whatever they want.
This crackdown comes as NYC parents grow increasingly concerned about the impact AI is having on their kids. Advocacy groups have pushed for this moratorium, and more than half of City Council members signed a letter urging the Mayor and the Department of Education to stop expanded AI use in classrooms.
United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew recently told ABC News that AI was a dangerous thing. He noted that parents are getting very upset with AI because all they hear are horror stories, and they are rightfully protective of their children.
New York City is not the only place instituting these kinds of bans. Norway did something similar, and Italy passed legislation that requires parental consent in order for kids under 14 to use the tech. The American Senate and House have been discussing a bill that would require AI companies to implement an age-verification process and ban them from providing chatbots to minors, while the industry has spent $41.8 million on lobbying in the first half of 2026 alone.
"The tech industry wants us to believe that AI-powered early education is not only inevitable, but necessary. We do not see it that way," Mayor Mamdani said in a statement ahead of the announcement.
Studies will be conducted throughout the one-year ban to analyze the technology's impact on children, and a coalition of educators, parents, and elected officials will recommend next steps.
