NYC puts student AI behind a one-year moratorium

New York City Public Schools is putting a one-year moratorium on student-facing generative AI in grades 2K–8 for 2026–27, with five approved high-school pilots and two 45-minute AI-literacy modules. Its official guidance bans student-facing tools in grades 2K–8, recommends no more than 30 minutes of daily 1:1 screen use in grades 3–5 and 45 minutes in grades 6–8, and preserves accessibility exceptions; Chalkbeat’s implementation report says city officials are disabling AI features in 38 existing software contracts. For education-AI builders, NYC is now a live test of whether age gates, procurement review, and teacher-only workflows can replace blanket student access; the compliance cost of automated decisions shows where this governance trend leads.