New York City Public Schools Implement One-Year Ban on Generative AI for Pre-K to 8th Grade Students

New York City's public school system has announced a one-year moratorium on generative AI for students from pre-K through 8th grade, effective for the 2026-27 school year. This policy, affecting approximately 600,000 students across nearly 1,600 schools, also includes a district-wide ban on companion chatbots and AI grading for all grade levels. The move is framed alongside new screen-time restrictions and represents the largest and most specific K-12 generative-AI restriction in the U.S. to date.