Mamdani Imposes One-Year Moratorium on Generative AI in NYC Schools

In brief

• The moratorium covers students from 2-K through eighth grade and takes effect in the 2026-27 school year.
• Companion chatbots are barred in every grade, high school included.
• Quill, Edia, Brisk Teaching, Playlab and Intel AI-Ready Schools will run metered pilots in a maximum of five classes per high school.

New York City has barred students from 2-K through eighth grade from using generative AI for a year, in what Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels called the broadest such policy in the country.

The moratorium reaches nearly 600,000 students, two-thirds of enrollment, and starts with the 2026-27 school year. All software with student-facing generative AI is out, and companion chatbots are prohibited in every grade, high school included.

Mamdani said the tech industry wants people to treat AI-powered early education as inevitable and necessary. "We do not see it that way," he said, noting that “Children need teachers and human connection in order to learn and grow.”

Teaching AI literacy

The city will spend the year studying AI’s impacts, Mamdani said, with the city taking a cautious approach to the technology.

Up to 50,000 high school students, roughly 5% of the system, will use vetted tools in a maximum of five classes per school. Text analysis tool Quill goes to English classrooms for no more than 15 minutes a week, math coaching platform Edia for 20, and Intel AI-Ready Schools runs one period a week on semester-long projects. Brisk Teaching and Playlab take the remaining slots, the latter capped at two assignments a marking period.