NYC Council Seeks 2-Year School AI Freeze as City Scraps AI High School Plan
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 23
NYC Council Seeks 2-Year School AI Freeze as City Scraps AI High School Plan
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 23
Summary
More than half of New York City Council members publicly urged Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Chancellor Kamar Samuels to impose a 2-year moratorium on AI in public schools, allowing only instruction on AI risks.
The push follows parent and expert warnings that generative AI encourages cognitive off-loading, weakens critical thinking and lacks evidence of durable learning benefits for K-12 students.
A 2025 Societies study found 17-to-25-year-olds showed higher AI dependence and lower critical-thinking scores, while Stanford said in March evidence on AI’s classroom impact remains limited.
New York City has already dropped plans for an AI-focused high school after public backlash, and the school system says it is developing guardrails and a broader student-protection policy with families.
The fight reflects a wider U.S. backlash: more than 1,100 Bend, Oregon, parents petitioned against student AI tools, and the American Federation of Teachers called in May to remove student-facing AI from elementary schools.