NYC public schools to ban generative AI for elementary, middle school students in September

New York City’s public school system is set to release a policy for this coming school year on artificial intelligence — which will include a ban on the use of generative AI for students in 2-K through 8th grade, the Daily News has learned.

The new rules mean that no children in preschool, elementary school, and middle school should have access to education software that uses student-facing AI, including instructional programs and AI tutors. The prohibition covers nearly 600,000 public school students, or two-thirds of the system’s total enrollment.

The policy also bans individual devices in the classroom for preschool and the earlier grades of elementary school.

It wasn’t immediately clear how the new policy would be enforced. The city’s Department of Education did not immediately return a request for comment.