New York City public school students are returning to classrooms using pencils, books and computers, but not generative AI.
On September 2, NYC Mayor Zohran K. Mamdani put a new rule into effect that will impact approximately 600,000 students across the city during the 2026 – 2027 school year, a one-year suspension as it applies to the use of generative AI.
The policy is meant to encourage critical thinking, build social interactions between students and their peers and teachers, as well as develop integral problem solving skills.
In the announcement of the policy Mamdani stated, “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.”
However, this policy does not uniformly apply across all grade levels.
For students in 2K – preschool as well as through second to eighth grade – student-facing generative AI will be off the table for the year. Higher grade levels do not face a similar rule.
“Children need their teachers and human connection in order to learn and grow,” said Mayor Mamdani. He also said teenagers are growing up in an AI-saturated world, making it important for schools to prepare them for the technology they will encounter in the future.
According to the Mayor’s Office, five twice-yearly AI critical thinking programs will be introduced through limited high school pilots, reaching up to 50,000 students across no more than five classes per high school.
The programs were selected with safety and data privacy in mind and will be used under direct teacher supervision.
All high school students will also receive two 45-minute AI literacy modules during the year which will cover how AI works, its biases, data privacy and appropriate use of the technology.
Regarding this new policy, Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels stated, “Our kids learn best from great teachers” he went on to add, “Struggle isn’t a flaw in the system. It is learning.” Samuels described that younger students need opportunities to work through difficult problems themselves, while high school students also need to prepare for a world increasingly shaped by AI.
The focus surrounding how students learn is also part of the conversation among educators at Queens College (QC).
The Knight News reached out to Associate English Professor and Director of the Writing Center Dr. Andrea Efthymiou. Dr. Efthymiou said she sees only advantages to limiting generative AI use in elementary and middle school. She marked those years as crucial for students in developing social skills and curiosity while building foundations in areas such as reading and math.
In her own classroom, Dr. Efthymiou does not completely avoid the tool. She requires students to cite generative AI when they use it and tries to leave class time for students to write and work with each other.
While Dr. Efthymiou sees a reason to limit AI for younger students, Chairperson of Elementary and Childhood Education (EECE) Professor Ted Kesler pointed out ways generative AI can support teachers, including through differentiated instruction and a potential tutoring or intervention tool for students who require alternative learning.
At the same time, Kesler said younger students may not yet have the discernment to use generative AI as a productive partner in their own thinking. He said students need to develop “curiosity, inquiry, imagination, creativity, and most of all, manageable struggle” during their school years.
Kesler has also seen students use AI in ways he considers less productive.
Over the past two years, he said a few students in his courses have submitted AI-generated work with “little critical analysis or refinement.” He estimated that those students make up less than 10% of his students.
The restrictions do not apply to every use of AI in schools. Teachers can use AI for instructional planning and operational tasks as long as the tools meet NYC Public Schools’ safety standards. Exceptions also apply to assistive technology, multilingual learners and career-readiness programs.
As the 2026 – 2027 school year progresses, the Technology in Schools Coalition aims to publish recommendations for future school years as they assess the overall moratorium of the use of generative AI in elementary education whilst high school students pursue educational AI pilot programs.
