New York City officials are casting a sweeping AI crackdown as a defense of human learning, while parents and advocacy groups who pushed for a longer moratorium say the safeguards still fall short.

The city had already moved to curb digital distractions, imposing a bell-to-bell ban on personal internet-enabled devices for the 2025-26 school year. Now, beginning in 2026-27, the Department of Education plans a one-year AI moratorium covering about 600,000 public-school students from 2-K through eighth grade — roughly two-thirds of the system.¹

Under the new rules, younger pupils cannot use AI until high school, individual screens are barred through second grade, and teachers cannot use AI to grade assignments. The department also recommends a 45-minute daily screen-time ceiling for middle schoolers and will ban companion chatbots, including tools marketed for emotional or mental support, at every grade level.²

Mayor Zohran Mamdani framed the policy as a rejection of Silicon Valley’s promise that AI belongs in early education. “Children need teachers and human connection in order to learn and grow,” he said, arguing that students must work through difficult problems themselves rather than be trained to depend on automated answers.¹

The line is firm but not absolute. High school students may use AI in specified cases and receive AI-literacy lessons twice yearly; teachers can still use it for lesson planning. Limited exceptions may be available for disability and multilingual support, while a small high-school pilot will test vetted tools with time limits and privacy safeguards.²

Critics of the plan are not necessarily defending classroom AI. Some parents and groups that sought a two-year moratorium called the guidelines disappointing, suggesting the fight is over how far the city should go — not whether young children deserve protection from a technology racing into school life.¹