New York Bans AI in Schools, Primary and Middle School Pupils Prohibited from Using It
New York City is taking firm action against the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in schools. The city government will ban primary school (SD) and middle school (SMP) pupils from using various generative AI tools for one academic year.
The policy was announced by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday (2/9/2026). The moratorium will apply to more than 600,000 pupils in the New York City public school system.
The move is intended to give city education officials time to study the impact of AI technology on children’s learning before determining long-term policy.
“New York City is committed to ensuring technology is used to support pupils, not replace the learning process,” the city government said in its policy direction, citing CNBC.com on Sunday (6/9/2026).
The ban covers software that uses student-facing generative AI, namely generative AI technology used directly by pupils.
This policy comes amid debate over the increasingly widespread use of AI in education. On one hand, the technology is considered capable of supporting learning and becoming an important skill for pupils in the future.
However, the use of AI by children also raises concerns. A number of parent groups and education observers worry that the technology makes it easier for pupils to cheat, become overly dependent on AI, and reduces their opportunities to develop critical and creative thinking skills.
New York City’s policy does not completely close the door on AI use in schools. High school (SMA) pupils can still participate in AI literacy programmes and a number of pilot programmes that use AI tools in supervised environments.
Teachers are also still allowed to use AI to help create lesson plans and administrative work. However, AI is not permitted to be used to grade pupils’ assignments.
In addition, children will also be restricted from using companion chatbots, namely chatbots designed to simulate emotional relationships, friendship, or social interaction.
Pros and Cons of AI Use
The policy has drawn mixed responses. Some parties argue that banning AI could cause pupils to miss the opportunity to understand a technology that is increasingly important in daily life.
However, a number of education experts see the one-year moratorium as an opportunity to test how AI should be used appropriately in schools.
Bree Dusseault, principal and managing director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, considers the temporary policy to be a suitable approach amid the very rapid development of AI.
According to her, the success of the policy will depend heavily on the city government’s research findings on the impact of AI use on the education process over the coming year.
Meanwhile, Nicole Barnes, an educational psychologist from the American Psychological Association (APA), believes schools need to ensure that the technology used genuinely helps pupils learn, rather than simply making them spend more time interacting with technology.
According to Barnes, children do not need unlimited access to AI in order to learn AI literacy. They actually need to understand from an early age that AI can produce incorrect answers and that critical thinking skills still require human involvement.
New York City is not the only region tightening AI use in schools. Previously, in 2023, the city’s public school system briefly blocked access to ChatGPT before the policy was later reversed.
The latest policy is being watched by other school districts in the United States because New York City is often a reference point in education policy implementation.
College Board data from 2025 shows that nearly 40% of schools in the US ban the use of AI tools in classrooms. However, in many schools, decisions about AI use are ultimately left to individual teachers.
With this latest moratorium, New York City is choosing to take time to evaluate AI use among younger pupils before granting broader access.