New York restricts AI usage for 600,000 pupils until high school

New York City is banning AI use for nearly 600,000 students through eighth grade, with limited pilot programs starting only in high school.

NEW YORK: New York is banning student use of artificial intelligence until high school, the city’s mayor announced Wednesday, in a move designed to protect children’s education and mental health.

The one-year restriction, which impacts nearly 600,000 public school pupils through eighth grade, will be closely watched across the United States as the city’s school board is by far the largest in the country.

Only high school students — typically aged 14 and above — will be permitted to use artificial intelligence in limited pilot programs, and they will be offered biannual AI literacy classes.

Companion chatbots, designed specifically for emotional support, will be banned across all grades.

“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 Zohran Mamdani said in a statement.

“Children need teachers and human connection in order to learn and grow. They need to develop skills alongside their peers, build relationships with educators and wrestle with tough problems on their own,” he added.

Teachers will still be permitted to use AI for lesson planning and administrative tasks.

Throughout the 2026-2027 school year, a task force of students, teachers, parents, elected officials and industry experts will meet to assess the impact of the moratorium before publishing its findings.

“We have a responsibility to ensure that rapidly-changing technology supports our children and their learning, rather than getting in the way of it,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Wednesday.

The new rules follow an initial framework published in March that allowed students to use AI for research, exploration and creative projects, sparking fury among many parents and teachers who considered it too lenient.

In response, the city’s schools chancellor Kamar Samuels said that leaders had “missed the mark” in their communications, adding his office would review the feedback for incorporation into future rules.