New York City will ban students' use of artificial intelligence in public schools through eighth grade, typically age 13 or 14, with the prohibition scheduled to go into effect next week. ^[1] Mayor Zohran Mamdani and school officials announced on 2026-05-06 that New York City's Department of Education will impose a one-year moratorium on generative AI use by students in elementary and middle school classrooms. ^[2] New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels announced a one-year moratorium on student-facing generative AI for children in grades 2-K through eighth grade on Wednesday. ^[3] AI use will only be allowed in high school, which begins in the ninth grade in the US school system, and will be limited to specific uses such as learning about the technology itself. ^[4] In another policy shift, classrooms will keep students off laptops or tablets through the third grade, age nine or 10. ^[5] Teachers and parents have warned against the use of AI instructional software in schools over concerns about harming children's mental health and cognitive development, including a phenomenon researchers have dubbed 'cognitive surrender'. ^[6] Ailish Brady, education advisor in the office of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, said the city will disable AI features in 38 previously approved educational programs, or stop using products whose AI features cannot be turned off, to comply with the ban. ^[7] New York City schools chancellor Kamar Samuels said high school students will be required to take an AI literacy course and will be given access to approved AI tools in specific educational contexts as part of the new policy. ^[8] Mayor Zohran Mamdani stated that he has yet to see a study showing that AI is beneficial for students in elementary and middle school, with the exception of research sponsored by corporations that stand to profit. ^[9] The new policy covers nearly 600,000 students in the New York City public school system and bans companion chatbots across every grade in the covered range. ^[10] Leonie Haimson of the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy told Fortune that she and others were concerned about wasting another 10 years in which children's education could be undermined by AI. ^[11]