Reaction of AI Moratorium Coalition to DOE’s confusing, loophole-filled AI guidance

Sept. 2, 2026

Below  is the press release the AI Moratorium Coalition put out this morning.  Much of the reporting on the DOE’s revised policy has so far been inaccurate or misleading.

Here are the slides that were presented to our steering commitee yesterday. The last slide has bullet points made up of responses to our questions.  There is nothing else in writing so far about this new policy that we know of except for the Mayor’s press release here.

That press release misleadingly claims that  the “policy eliminates AI use for students in grades 2-K through 8th grade. This includes all software that uses student-facing generative AI. ” As the slides indicate, and confirmed to us at the briefing, some software with AI capabilities will be allowed for assessment and diagnostics, as well as for students with disabilities and English Language Learners.  Up to 180 high schools will be included in five pilots that will use AI in instruction. Also the guidelines for screentime in grades 3 to 8th are only advisory — not mandated.

At the press conference (video here) they added that they are ditching about 40 ed tech apps or programs previously used in schools, and allowing five, but didn’t give their names.  They also said they are revamping the DOE procurement system but gave no explanation of whether the privacy vetting process would be strengthened or any independent evidence of  educational value would be required.

Moreover, neither the administration nor principals really know which products use AI and have made no attempt so far to verify whether they do, or whether they  data-mine student personal information to improve their products– which is illegal under state law.

So it remains fuzzy what the actual effect of this policy will be in NYC schools and on students.  The only clear improvement is the ban on screens in 2K through 2nd grade, which is a definite step forward.

Parents, teachers and advocates must be vigilant!    I will post a link to the video of our 2:30 presser when it’s available.  thanks Leonie

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Kelly Clancy, kelly@aim4nycschools.org, 512.589.6302

Liat Olenick, Liat@climatefamiliesnyc.org, 917-930-2788

 

AIM Coalition Responds to New NYCPS Policy for AI in Schools 

 

New guidance is a step in the right direction, but broad exceptions leave students at risk

New York: Today, New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) will release its long-awaited AI policy, placing a one-year pause on most AI use for students in 2K through 8th grade and creating some new limits for high school students, while allowing teachers and administrators to continue using AI with no new restrictions.

The AI Moratorium (AIM) Coalition will hold a virtual press conference with parents, educators, elected officials and advocates to respond to the policy and answer questions today at 2:30 pm. RSVP for link.

AIM Coalition Statement on the Guidance:

The Chancellor’s and Mayor’s announcement of a partial pause on AI in elementary and middle schools is a step in the right direction. It’s also a testament to the power and organizing of the thousands of parents, educators, students, artists, advocacy groups, and elected allies who have spoken out to demand a two-year moratorium on AI in schools.

We are particularly relieved that for the 2026–27 school year, according to Chancellor Samuels in our briefing yesterday, NYCPS will end its use of Amira, prohibit “companion chatbots” on school devices, and disable Google Gemini in Google Classroom. We also believe that the new guidance curtailing one-to-one screen time in 2K through 2nd grade will help protect our youngest learners from the many harms associated with AI products. These changes will create a safer and more effective learning environment for all students.

However, we have significant concerns about many elements of the policy as announced:

• The policy is presented as a ban on AI in 2K through 8th grade, but it includes several exceptions and only applies to the current school year.
• The policy creates dangerous AI pilots in an unknown number of high schools without clear product evaluations, learning objectives, or opt-in/opt-out structure — treating our students as guinea pigs and unpaid beta testers.
• The policy includes no mechanism for evaluating AI products or contracts for their climate impact or racial bias.
• There is still no clear policy curtailing the procurement process or spending on AI.
• One year is not enough time for a thorough and genuinely democratic process to develop a more durable policy for AI and ed tech in NYC schools.
• The policy allows largely unlimited staff use of generative AI, which poses unacceptable risks to students’ education and privacy. Of particular concern is the exposure of sensitive student information that may be used to increase surveillance and accelerate the school-to-prison pipeline.
• The guidelines restricting screen time for grades 3 through 8 are only advisory.

We’ve spent all year calling for a full AI moratorium because the myriad documented harms of generative AI — to students’ cognition, emotional and mental health, privacy, and the planet — affect students of all ages. We’ve demanded a two-year pause to allow time for an evidence-based and stakeholder-informed process that would evaluate what role (if any) AI products should play in our schools.

There is no need to rush AI into our schools at any grade level. We’re committed to fighting to protect ALL students in 2k–12th grade from the immediate and future harms of AI in schools. We hope this new policy is a first step toward a more comprehensive policy, and in the meantime we’re calling for the AI pause to be extended beyond this first year.

Quotes:

“We continue to invest in band-aids and technological gimmicks instead of repairing the systemic harms done to our most vulnerable students. While we celebrate the ban of one-to-one tech in 2K through 2nd grade, we still have some major concerns about carve-outs for 3rd–8th grade, and the use of AI in high schools and by teachers. New York City’s public schools predominantly serve Black, Latine, and other students of color, communities that are consistently denied resources and then blamed when students do not meet the system’s measures of success. Rather than enact a two-year moratorium on generative AI and independently evaluate whether platforms approved through the DOE’s ERMA process are accurate, effective, and free from all forms of bias, the DOE is allowing these platforms to remain in our classrooms. The lack of transparency surrounding the proposed high school pilot programs is especially concerning when even institutions of higher education are approaching AI more cautiously. We do not have empirical evidence that AI improves student learning, and much less in our classrooms. As the nation’s largest public school system, NYCPS had an opportunity to establish a national standard grounded in racial equity, human relationships, and the science of learning. Instead, it is asking our most vulnerable students to bear the risks of an unproven experiment without giving parents and students the right to opt out of it. We already know what works: culturally responsive classrooms, community schools, and authentic assessments. This is what we should be investing in.”

—Dr. Kaliris Salas-Ramirez, New Yorkers for Racially Just Public Schools (RJPS) and CEC4 President

“The limits this announcement places on the use of technology in schools, including student chatbots and the daily use of risky programs like i-Ready and Amira, is a step in the right direction and puts NYC on record for addressing the harms that may come from the use of AI. The announcement is also evidence that parent and community pressure have the power to shape policy. However, teachers’ use of AI and high school pilots will still leave parents with little ability to keep their child out of such programs, despite parents’ rightful concerns around bias, privacy violations, and lack of efficacy. We are committed to continuing the work on proper use of technology across New York State and ensuring that communities that have historically had less power to shape those decisions, are front and center.”—Marina Marcou-O’Malley, Alliance for Quality Education

“While less AI and less screen-time is a win for our youngest learners and a testament to the organizing of thousands of parents, educators, and allies over the past year, this new guidance does nothing to address or mitigate the massive climate and environmental harms of AI companies. There is, as yet, no process for evaluating new contracts for environmental impact or any limits placed on which companies NYCPS and individual schools can purchase curricular materials from, nor any specifics in the policy about AI tools like Chat-GPT, Claude, and Gemini, all of which are driving the data-center boom and thwarting local and global climate goals. After a summer of climate disasters, this is a betrayal of New York’s students, who are on the front lines of the climate crisis and deserve a city and school system that does better than reckless complicity in the destruction of the livable world.” —Liat Olenick, Climate Families NYC

“Along with all the confusing exemptions and exceptions to the ban on AI in grades 3-8, we also have grave concerns about the lack of rigorous oversight, enforcement and privacy protections. DOE officials recently admitted at a meeting of the Panel for Educational Policy that they do not know which ed tech products use AI and which do not. Without strengthened safeguards for the handling of personal student data, and enhanced verification procedures, it is likely that many products assigned to students with embedded AI will continue to data-mine students’ personal information in ways that violate their privacy and put them at risk. It is particularly concerning that teachers are still going to be able to assign YouTube to students, even though Google announced over a year ago that YouTube would no longer comply with the state student privacy law, and would use their personal data for commercial purposes.” —Leonie Haimson, Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

 

“Because of the tremendous organizing by parents, students, teachers, and elected officials, the NYC Public Schools system acted on AI and screen time. Even though there are some positive changes to come for students in the upcoming school year, there are still significant gaps in the new policy. Most importantly, the material conditions that allow Big Tech and Ed Tech companies to easily take our much-needed public dollars without parent or student input still exist. There are no democratic means by which parents, students, teachers, and other stakeholders have a say in Ed Tech purchasing decisions. Nonetheless, NYC-DSA is excited to stand alongside the AIM coalition to continue to fight for a future where the needs of working-class New Yorkers matter much more to our NYC Public School leaders than special Big Tech interests.”

—Edgar Alfonseca, NYC-DSA Tech Action Working Group

 

“Kids should never be pushed to replace their own experiences, thoughts, and skills with ‘A.i.’ in art or writing — that’s a horribly damaging, belittling, anti-educational thing to do to a child. So we at Comix Action are cautiously pleased to see a pause on ‘A.i.’ for 2K-8. But generative ‘A.i.’ use for writing and art should be explicitly banned in grades 9–12 as well, even in the pilot programs this policy mentions. The policy also fails to block teachers’ use of ‘A.i.’ to create lesson plans, which means students could be exposed to the factual mistakes and the racial and cultural biases that ‘A.i.’ constantly injects into its outputs. Finally, any ‘A.i.’ literacy programs must not be funded or influenced by the tech industry, and they must include ‘A.i.’ quiteracy — giving kids the knowledge and tools to remove ‘A.i.’ tools completely from their education and work.” —Greg Pak, Comix Action

 

“The fact that the DOE is releasing a policy that begins to address the harms of AI problems is a testament to the organizing power of parents across this city. Unfortunately, the guidance, as we understand it, does not significantly change the material conditions of children in NYC schools. The failure to rein in programs like HMH and iReady means that students will still be subjected to grading by machine, instead of by teacher. I-ready, the subject of multiple lawsuits, will still be in place in classrooms across the city. Children after second grade will have no restrictions placed on their screen time–only easily ignored recommendations. Most troublingly, high schoolers will be enrolled in pilot AI programs and be guinea pigs for big tech before there are any kinds of frameworks or guardrails established. This policy underscores the need for a full two-year moratorium on AI – our kids deserve it.” —Kelly Clancy, Parents for AI Caution in Educational Spaces

 

“Distraction Free Schools New York is proud of the organizing NYC parents have done to ensure that the city’s youngest learners in 2K-2nd grade will have meaningful engagement with human teachers restored to their classrooms. But the many carve-outs and lack of enforcement on the stated prohibitive guidelines around AI leave us deeply concerned. It is well past time that school districts stop using children as free product testers for a billion-dollar industry that has already harmed so many. The high school AI pilot plan and lack of screen-time regulations for upper grades goes against all independent expert recommendations around these technologies. With AI use leading to “cognitive surrender” in all children, including during the developmentally sensitive period of adolescence, parents should be on high alert. Public education is meant to level the playing field for America’s children. As it stands, tech billionaires’ kids get screen and AI-free educations, while the rest of America’s children get the rejects of these parents’ very own making.” —Elyssa East, Distraction Free Schools New York co-leader

 

“While we appreciate the shift in policy since the DOE’s initial guidance in March, we are dismayed to see the numerous carve-outs for software in boxed curricula, no additional limits on teacher use, and a lack of clarity in the language used to describe this policy that leaves a lot of space for continued AI use in schools. It is largely recommendations, not requirements, with little change to screen use and no accountability. Without enforcement and accountability, these recommendations become whispered suggestions that can be easily ignored. We see the use of generative AI by educators as a labor issue, and generative AI does not address or repair the underlying labor concerns (unsustainable workloads, teaching out of license, etc.) but rather allows the DOE to maintain those unsustainable working conditions.” —Martina Meijer, Fourth Grade Teacher, MORE-UFT

 

“Parents are not just worried about how AI is harming their own kids. We’re worried about how it’s undermining public education, democracy, and the earth’s climate. So we’re thrilled that our organizing has produced significant restrictions on the use of AI in NYC schools. But we have a lot more work to do. This policy only lasts for one year. It places no new restrictions on teachers’ use of AI. The problems around vendors’ handling of students’ personal information have not been resolved. And ed-tech companies are quietly rolling out AI features in products that have already been approved for classrooms. So we will continue to fight to keep our public schools safe, effective, and accountable to the communities they serve.” —Craig Garrett, D14 Families for Human Learning

 

The AI Moratorium Coalition includes the Alliance for Quality Education (AQE), the coalition for Racially Just Public Schools (RJPS), Climate Families NYC, NYC-DSA Tech Action & Comrades with Kids, Parents for AI Caution (PACES), Class Size Matters, Parents for Student Privacy, Distraction Free Schools NY, Comix Action, Hands Off NYC Families, MORE-UFT, the Collaborative Research Center for Resilience, and D14 Families for Human Learning.

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