New York City will bar public school students from preschool through eighth grade from using generative artificial intelligence for the coming school year, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels announced Wednesday at the Brooklyn STEAM Center.

The one-year moratorium takes effect in the 2026-27 year and applies to all software with student-facing generative AI, including chatbots and AI tutors. It covers nearly 600,000 children, about two-thirds of enrollment in the country's largest school district. The mayor's office described the policy as the most expansive of its kind in the United States.

"Children need teachers and human connection in order to learn and grow," Mamdani said in a statement released by his office. He said the city would use the year to study the effects of the technology on younger students.

High schools are treated differently. The Associated Press reported that every public high school student will receive twice-yearly AI literacy instruction, and that a limited number of classrooms will run vetted pilot programs involving the technology. StateScoop reported that a new Technology in Schools Coalition, made up of students, educators, parent leaders, elected officials, union partners and outside experts, will meet during the year to assess how the ban is working.

The screen time rules are part of the same policy. Students from preschool through second grade will not be issued individual devices, though classrooms may keep smart boards. The city recommends limiting device time to 30 minutes a day in grades three through five and 45 minutes in grades six through eight, according to Chalkbeat. Assistive technology for students with disabilities is exempt.

Mamdani said the Education Department will disable AI components in close to 40 previously approved education programs that do not meet the new safety and oversight standards, amNewYork reported.

The policy follows a review that began in March, when the department issued preliminary guidance built on a traffic light system. That framework allowed some AI use with safeguards while barring the technology from decisions on grades, assessments, discipline, surveillance and counseling. It drew months of public comment. A coalition of parents, educators, students and elected officials called in June for a two-year moratorium, citing privacy and critical thinking concerns, and more than half of the City Council signed a letter asking for a pause. Samuels said in May that the initial guidance had missed the mark, and in July he told schools to hold off on software purchases until the final rules were issued, which left some principals uncertain about access to gradebooks and family communication platforms.

Reaction Wednesday was mixed. Advocates who had sought a two-year pause called the new policy a "step in the right direction" but raised concerns about the high school pilots, which could involve tens of thousands of students, Chalkbeat reported. Gov. Kathy Hochul supported the decision in a statement circulated by the mayor's office. Some technology groups have argued that early exposure to AI tools helps prepare students for the workforce.

Several details remain unsettled with classes starting Sept. 10. The city has not published the full list of tools covered by the ban, and it has not said how the screen time limits will be monitored in individual schools.

"This moratorium is a commitment to getting the future right," Mamdani said, according to WABC.