New York City stops young students from using AI

New York City is the biggest city in the United States. On September 2, 2026, the city's mayor^*1, Zohran Kwame Mamdani, and the head of the city's schools, Kamal H. Samuels, announced new rules about AI and screens in public schools.

From the 2026-2027 school year, young students will not be allowed to use generative AI^*2 at school for one year. The rule is for children from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade. About 600,000 public school students will be affected. That is two out of every three students in the city's schools.

The city also set limits on screen time^*3. Children in second grade and below will get less time on their own school computers or tablets. Students in grades three to five should use screens for no more than 30 minutes a day. Students in grades six to eight should use them for no more than 45 minutes a day.

There are some exceptions^*4. Students with disabilities^*5 can still use assistive technology^*6. Students who are learning English and students in career programs, such as computer science, can also use AI. Teachers can still use AI to plan lessons and do school work. However, companion chatbots^*7 are banned for students of all ages.

High school students will get AI literacy^*8 lessons. In these lessons, they will learn to think carefully about AI. The lessons take place twice a year, and each time there are two 45-minute classes. A small number of high school students will also try AI tools in a pilot program^*9. The program will run in up to five school districts^*10, with up to 50,000 students. That is about 5% of all students in the city. The five tools are Quill for English (up to 15 minutes a week), Edia for math (up to 20 minutes a week), Brisk Teaching (10 to 20 minutes a week), Playlab (up to two assignments in each grading period^*11), and Intel AI-Ready Schools (one class a week).

During the school year, the city will start a group called the Technology in Schools Coalition. Students, teachers, parents, lawmakers^*12 and experts^*13 will be in the group. They will study how the new rules affect students and then publish a report.

1. *1 mayor: the leader of a city
2. *2 generative AI: computer programs that can write text, make pictures, or answer questions by themselves
3. *3 screen time: the time a person spends looking at a computer, tablet, or phone
4. *4 exceptions: cases where a rule does not apply
5. *5 disabilities: problems with the body or mind that make some things hard to do
6. *6 assistive technology: tools and programs that help people with disabilities learn or do things
7. *7 companion chatbots: computer programs that talk with you like a friend
8. *8 AI literacy: understanding what AI is and how to use it wisely
9. *9 pilot program: a small test of something new before many people use it
10. *10 school districts: areas of a city that share a group of schools
11. *11 grading period: a part of the school year, after which students get their grades
12. *12 lawmakers: people who make the laws
13. *13 experts: people who know a lot about one subject