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NYC Public Schools Ban Generative AI Tools for Students Through Eighth Grade

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a one-year moratorium prohibiting student-facing generative AI across public elementary and middle schools (grades 2-K through 8th grade) starting in the 2026–2027 academic year.

Nilakshi Barman | | 2 min read

NYC Public Schools Ban Generative AI Tools for Students Through Eighth Grade
AI generated image | Minutebrief Team

In Brief:

  1. One-Year AI Moratorium: Pauses generative AI and AI companion chatbots for nearly 600,000 students through 8th grade.
  2. High School Pilot & Literacy: Introduces bi-annual AI literacy classes and controlled AI pilot programs for high schoolers.
  3. New Screen Time Limits: Restricts individual screens for early grades and caps daily screen time to 30–45 minutes for middle grades.


New York City Public Schools, the nation's largest school district, has implemented a nationwide-leading moratorium banning student-facing generative artificial intelligence tools for students through eighth grade. Announcing the policy alongside Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels, Mayor Zohran Mamdani emphasized that early childhood learning requires direct human interaction, critical reasoning, and peer collaboration rather than automated software answers. The district will disable AI features across dozens of existing classroom apps while restricting individual screen time limits. While elementary and middle school students face the temporary ban, high school students will participate in mandatory AI literacy programs covering bias, ethics, and supervised usage.

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