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New York City Public Schools Implements One-Year Ban on Generative AI for Younger Students

New York City Public Schools Implements One-Year Ban on Generative AI for Younger Students

New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) has announced a one-year moratorium on student-facing generative artificial intelligence (AI) for students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. This policy, effective for the upcoming school year, prohibits the use of all software where students directly interact with generative AI technology, including companion chatbots across all grade levels. The decision impacts approximately 600,000 public school students, representing two-thirds of the system's total enrollment. While younger students face a complete ban, high school students will have limited, supervised access to AI through pilot programs and will receive mandatory AI literacy classes focusing on bias, risks, ethical considerations, and career impacts. Teachers are still permitted to use AI for instructional planning and operational tasks, but not for grading, behavior monitoring, or making decisions about student placement or promotion. This move aligns with a growing national trend among school districts...

NYC Schools to Ban Student AI Tools in K-8 and Implement Screen Time Limits

NYC Schools to Ban Student AI Tools in K-8 and Implement Screen Time Limits

New York City public schools are set to introduce new guidelines that will ban student-facing artificial intelligence tools for grades 2-K through 8. Additionally, the policy will impose limits on classroom screen time for students. Specifically, individual devices will not be provided to students in preschool through second grade. For students in grades 3 to 5, screen time on individual devices will be capped at 30 minutes, while middle school students will have a 45-minute limit. High school students will have restricted access to AI, though it may be utilized for literacy, career readiness programs, and in five pilot programs. The Education Department officials emphasize that younger students require hands-on learning, social interaction, and teacher-guided instruction, and routine individual screen use can hinder these experiences. Teachers will be permitted to use approved AI tools for instructional tasks like lesson planning and translation, but not for grading, behavior monitoring, or developing spe...

Chicago School Board Candidates Advocate for AI Moratorium and Screen Time Limits

Chicago School Board Candidates Advocate for AI Moratorium and Screen Time Limits

A significant majority of Chicago School Board candidates, including 24 out of 42 on the ballot, have signed a pledge supporting a three-year moratorium on generative AI in Chicago Public Schools. This initiative, spearheaded by Illinois Families for Public Schools, also calls for strict screen time restrictions, including a complete ban on one-to-one digital device use for students before third grade. The pledge further seeks to prohibit the collection of biometric information from students and establish a chief privacy officer within the district. This movement reflects growing concerns among parents and educators regarding student privacy, the potential negative impact of excessive screen time on learning outcomes, and the responsible integration of new technologies in education. The Chicago Teachers Union has endorsed 15 of the candidates who signed the pledge, indicating broad support for these measures among key educational stakeholders in the city. The district has clarified that while Google Gemini...

Mamdani imposes one-year ban on AI for most NYC students

Mamdani imposes one-year ban on AI for most NYC students

NEW YORK, Sept 2 (Reuters) - New York City officials announced a one-year moratorium on students using artificial intelligence in public elementary and middle schools, the latest step by public officials to set guidelines around new technology in the classroom.

Brookings Institution Study Reveals Racial Equity Blind Spot in School Screen-Time Policies

Brookings Institution Study Reveals Racial Equity Blind Spot in School Screen-Time Policies

A new analysis from the Brookings Institution highlights an 'equity blind spot' in the increasing number of state and district-level policies restricting or banning personal devices and limiting screen time in K-12 schools. While these policies aim to address concerns about student attention and mental health, the research indicates they may disproportionately affect Black students and those with disabilities. For instance, an examination of Florida's statewide phone ban showed a significant rise in in-school suspensions, almost entirely concentrated among Black students, with no significant change for white or Hispanic students. This disparity is attributed to the discretionary judgment exercised by a predominantly white teaching workforce, which may be influenced by implicit biases. Furthermore, policies lacking explicit exceptions for assistive technology risk removing essential tools for students with individualized education programs (IEPs), particularly as Black students are overrepresented in specia...

Carahsoft Launches Community to Aid K-12 Schools in AI Adoption and Cyber Readiness

Carahsoft Launches Community to Aid K-12 Schools in AI Adoption and Cyber Readiness

Carahsoft has introduced a new community initiative designed to support K-12 schools and districts in navigating the complexities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption and enhancing cyber readiness. Named 'Empowering Tomorrow's Digital Citizens,' this community provides curated guidance, tools, and resources tailored for education leaders. The offerings include frameworks for AI readiness and cybersecurity, regulatory guidance, district readiness resources, an AI readiness slide deck, and an AI integration manual. Additionally, the resource center features relevant events, procurement options, an E-rate blueprint, and an interactive grant funding platform powered by GrantLeads.AI. Members who sign up will also receive books on AI and cybersecurity for children, co-authored by Alexis Bonnell, head of AI Adoption & Deployment in Government at OpenAI.

Professor Greg Murphy Advises Students on AI Use and Critical Thinking

Professor Greg Murphy Advises Students on AI Use and Critical Thinking

Professor Greg Murphy, who teaches History and serves as the Head of Patron Services at the Mortola Library at Pace University, is advising students on the effective and critical use of artificial intelligence (AI). Having taught at Pace University for over ten years, Professor Murphy emphasizes the importance of understanding both the capabilities and limitations of AI. He notes that while AI excels at handling mundane tasks, saving time, he frequently finds himself correcting its 'hallucinations and specious results,' likening its utility in those moments to 'less value than a toaster.' Professor Murphy encourages students to read more, follow their curiosities, go beyond the surface, and always think critically. He teaches courses such as 'The American Experience: The United States and the World' and 'The War Film in History: Genre, Gender, and Race,' using films and readings to explore themes in American History. Professor Murphy recently relocated to the Mortola campus after working at the Beekman Lib...

NYC, the nation's largest school system, bans AI for students through 8th grade

NYC, the nation's largest school system, bans AI for students through 8th grade

New York City’s public school system will ban artificial intelligence for students through the 8th grade during the upcoming school year

School Leaders Urged to Mobilize Communities to Protect E-Rate Funding Amid Scrutiny

School Leaders Urged to Mobilize Communities to Protect E-Rate Funding Amid Scrutiny

School district leaders are being called upon to rally their communities to protect the E-Rate program, which provides crucial funding for internet connectivity in American schools and libraries. A recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking has raised questions about the program's future, including whether its mission is accomplished, if funding should be restricted to rural areas, or if it should be curtailed due to concerns about student screen time. The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) emphasizes that a reduction or elimination of E-Rate funding would force districts to divert general funds, potentially leading to cuts in teaching positions and educational programs. School leaders are advised to reframe the narrative, decouple E-Rate from the screen time debate, translate data into human impact, and equip their communities with tools for advocacy.

WJCC Schools Propose Plan to Manage Student Screen Time and Technology Use

WJCC Schools Propose Plan to Manage Student Screen Time and Technology Use

Williamsburg-James City County (WJCC) school administrators have presented a plan to better monitor and manage technology use and screen time for students. This initiative follows concerns raised by several school board members and a group of mothers regarding excessive computer use in local schools. Chief Academic Officer Robin Ford and Kristin Barr, the schools’ supervisor of instructional technology, shared the findings of a 60-member focus group that convened over the summer to address these issues. The plan emphasizes that technology is a tool for learning, not recreation, and aims to ensure consistent technology use across schools, provide proper teacher training, and keep parents informed while offering them tools to monitor their children's online activities both at school and at home. Some parents, however, expressed disappointment that the schools did not acknowledge problems with excessive computer use.

Rutgers University Offers Workshops and Guidance on Generative AI in Education

Rutgers University Offers Workshops and Guidance on Generative AI in Education

Rutgers University's School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) Office of Undergraduate Education is providing workshops and resources to help faculty and students navigate the impact of generative AI (GenAI) on teaching and learning. These initiatives include interactive workshops focused on redesigning writing assignments to account for GenAI, exploring metacognitive strategies in the age of GenAI, and discussing instructional prompts. The university emphasizes clear communication of expectations regarding GenAI use, advising faculty to state policies on syllabi and assignments. Rutgers also discourages reliance on GenAI detectors due to potential inaccuracies and the negative impact false positives can have on student-faculty relationships. Instead, the university suggests focusing on inconsistencies in student work or fabricated citations as indicators of academic integrity violations, regardless of GenAI use. Additional resources are available through SAS IT and the New Brunswick Institute for Teaching Innovat...

Khan Academy Integrates Gemini-Powered Visual Tutoring and Enhanced Teacher Controls into Khanmigo for 2026 School Year

Khan Academy Integrates Gemini-Powered Visual Tutoring and Enhanced Teacher Controls into Khanmigo for 2026 School Year

Khan Academy is rolling out new Gemini-powered features in its AI tutor, Khanmigo, for the 2026 school year. This update introduces interactive visual tutoring for students and a redesigned workflow that gives teachers more control over AI-generated practice materials. The development is the result of a six-month collaboration with Google, which included a Google.org Fellowship where six Google engineers worked directly with Khan Academy's product and engineering teams. For students, Khanmigo will no longer be limited to text-based interactions; it can now generate and allow manipulation of interactive diagrams, such as charts, geometric shapes, and parallel coordinate plots, when visuals are deemed helpful. Early results from Khan Academy indicate increased student engagement and improvements in 'next-item correctness,' a metric measuring a student's ability to correctly answer subsequent problems on the same skill without AI assistance. Additionally, the 'Practice My Knowledge' tool has been rebuilt to e...