NYC’s AI ban through grade 8 sets stage for rest of US, experts say

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkNew York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a one-year AI ban in elementary and middle public schools for the 2026-2027 school year [File: Heather Khalifa/Reuters]By Andy HirschfeldPublished On 3 Sep 20263 Sep 2026New York City’s ban on use of artificial intelligence in the classroom for elementary and middle school students in the city’s public school system – the largest in the country – could set the stage for how other school systems in the United States tailor their approach to the use of AI, experts say.The moratorium, which was announced on Wednesday, will last for one year and will end the use of 40 different educational tools impacting 600,000 students. The ban will not bar teachers from using the technology to create lesson plans.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Mamdani praises El-Sayed’s victory, rejects ‘mini Mamdani’ tropelist 2 of 4New York mayor Mamdani sues to block $10,000 teaching aide bonuseslist 3 of 4Mamdani opposes Hindu nationalist event in New Yorklist 4 of 4Mamdani lookalike contest draws hundreds of hopefuls in New Yorkend of list“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,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a news conference on Wednesday.“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.”Mamdani added that the city will spend the next year studying how the policy will impact students. The city’s public school system will also launch a pilot programme in high schools for a limited number of students.Among the tools being tested will be the maths AI platform Edia, which will provide “step-by-step coaching” and prompting students to explain their reasoning. Its use will be limited to 20 minutes each week. Another tool, Quill, will be used in English language arts courses and will be limited to 15 minutes each week.“The mayor is giving schools, parents, scholars the runway to study what the impact on our education system these tools will actually have,” Adin Lenchner, founder of the New York-based political consultancy Carroll Street Campaigns, told Al Jazeera.“This feels like the kind of leadership that people were actually hungry for — standing up to corporate interests and looking out for students.”The policy also implements staggered screen-time restrictions, with use limited to less than 45 minutes each day through eighth grade.The policy also bans “companion chatbots” through high school. City Hall did not elaborate on Al Jazeera’s request for clarification on what that covers.The moratorium comes at a consequential time for New York City’s public schools. Reading proficiency scores tumbled by 6 percent in 2025 among students in grades 3 through 8.Experts say that New York City may set the stage for how other school districts approach AI.“NYC public schools banning AI in elementary and middle schools sends an important message because it is the largest school district in the US. However, it is hard to know the effectiveness of the ban because they haven’t shared the enforcement mechanism,” Margeret Murry associate professor of communication at the University of Michigan, told Al Jazeera.AI’s impact on learningThe mayor’s decision comes alongside a growing number of reports showing that AI use in children’s education can have a negative impact on cognitive development.A comprehensive review of 400 studies, along with interviews with teachers, parents and other educators conducted by the Brookings Institution’s Center for Universal Education, concluded that the negatives of generative AI in the classroom outweigh the positives. However, the report stressed that careful and limited implementation in specific use cases can help enrich learning outcomes.“It’s in line with the science,” Shaleen Title, an attorney at Rudick Law Group and adjunct professor at Roger Williams University School of Law focusing on emerging sectors like AI, said of the mayor’s move.“The most important thing about it is that it changes the approach. Before, the approach was to let students use technology without really vetting the risks, whereas now, the default is that the products have to be proven safe before they can be used by students, which I think is the right approach. I think it was a smart reversal on their part.” One recurring theme outlined in the Brooking Institution’s was what researchers described as a “digitally induced ‘amnesia”, in which students were unable to recall basic factual information about topics they had studied or submitted work on.That theme continues into adolescence and young adulthood. A January 2025 report in the peer-reviewed sociology journal Societies found that people aged 17 to 25 who relied more heavily on AI had lower levels of critical-thinking ability.For those bound for university, professors are starting to notice the effects. A College Board report found that 84 percent of faculty believe AI erodes students’ critical-thinking skills.In a piece published in the Chronicle of Higher Education, a trade publication, an adjunct professor at several universities said his students appear increasingly unable to keep up with reading and writing tasks that students were able to handle a decade ago.Home useWhile the city can push back on AI use in the classroom, regulating its use at home will be harder.“This is something we’ve actually been obviously dealing with for quite a few years. The idea around this policy is to make sure that we get to limitations. I think we ought not to forget that last year there was AI usage in our school,” New York City Public Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said in a news conference when asked about AI use for homework.“This policy seeks to limit that and seeks to expand our teachers and our understanding of how to combat the external use of AI when it’s used at home.”The ban does have some exceptions, including for students with disabilities and “multilingual learners”, as well as in environments where students are taking part in “career readiness programs, like computer science”.“They’re probably going to want to use generative AI in their coding classes, for example. They were also very clear in their announcement that sometimes generative AI will be needed for disabilities and accommodations. So certainly, there’s an exception and a place for it in schools,” Title added.The announcement also said students will be given access to two yearly AI literacy courses, which are designed to help understand the technology as well as bias and ethical issues that stem from AI use.