03 Sep NYC Public Schools Introduce New AI and Screen Time Rules for Students

New York City Public Schools are introducing major new rules around artificial intelligence and screen time for the 2026–27 school year, with a one-year moratorium on student-facing generative AI for children from 2-K through 8th grade.

Announced by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels, the policy will affect nearly 600,000 public school students and is designed to place greater emphasis on teacher-led learning, critical thinking and face-to-face interaction in the classroom.

Under the new policy, students in 2-K through 8th grade will not use student-facing generative AI tools at school during the one-year moratorium. AI companion chatbots will also be prohibited across all grades. Teachers will still be able to use approved AI tools for lesson planning and administrative tasks. Exceptions will also remain for certain assistive technologies, multilingual learners and career-readiness programs.

What About High School Students?
High school students will take part in a different approach. All students will have access to two 45-minute AI literacy sessions during the school year, covering topics including how AI works, bias, potential risks, ethics and its possible impact on future careers.

A limited number of high school classrooms will also participate in five supervised AI pilot programs. No more than 50,000 students will take part, and use of the technology will be overseen by trained teachers using tools that have been reviewed for safety and data privacy.

New Screen Time Guidelines
The city is also introducing new recommendations aimed at reducing classroom screen time for younger students.

Students in second grade and below will have restrictions on one-to-one screen use, while recommended daily limits will be:

• Up to 30 minutes for students in grades 3–5
• Up to 45 minutes for students in grades 6–8

The city says technology used in NYC public schools will also undergo additional review to determine whether it is genuinely supporting learning.

What Happens Next?
Throughout the 2026–27 school year, a new Technology in Schools Coalition will review the impact of the AI moratorium and high school pilot programs. The group will include parents, students, teachers, education experts, elected officials and other stakeholders, and will publish recommendations to help shape the city’s future approach to AI in schools.

For NYC families, the changes mean considerably less student-facing AI for younger children this school year, alongside more structured guidance around screen use and a more cautious introduction to AI for older students.

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(Image Credit: NYC.gov)