The largest school system in the U.S. just banned AI for students through 8th grade

Mayor Mamdani announced a one-year moratorium on AI tools for elementary and middle school students.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during the annual New York State Financial Control Board meeting, Aug. 12, 2026, in New York. [Photo: Yuki Iwamura, File/AP Photo]

New York City’s public schools will temporarily ban elementary and middle school students from using generative artificial intelligence tools during the upcoming school year, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Wednesday.The one-year moratorium — part of a broader assessment of how children in the nation’s largest school system interact with the technology — will apply to “all software that uses student-facing generative AI” for students through eighth grade, the mayor’s office said. It described the policy as the most expansive prohibition in the country.At the same time, the city will establish twice-yearly AI literacy classes for all public high school students. It will also launch pilot programs allowing some........

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