America’s Largest School Districts Enforce AI Moratoriums in Classrooms

Following the initial excitement and subsequent cautious adoption of AI tools like ChatGPT in schools, the two largest public school districts in the United States—New York City Department of Education and Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)—have reinstated restrictive policies on AI use for students. Earlier bans on ChatGPT in 2022 and 2023 were relaxed as districts explored potential educational benefits. However, ahead of the 2026-27 academic year, both districts have moved to limit AI access once again. New York City has prohibited AI use for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, while allowing limited, approved AI tools for high school students. This policy is more stringent than the district’s earlier proposed guidelines, which had categorized most student AI use as moderate risk and delegated usage decisions to individual teachers. The revised approach follows strong feedback from educators and parents, prompting a pause in AI-related software purchases. Similarly, LAUSD announced a one-year moratorium on generative AI tools across its devices for approximately 378,000 students. This decision surprised some district officials and came after earlier restrictions on screen time but without prior specific AI rules. These moves have been welcomed by parent and teacher advocacy groups in both cities, who have been pushing for stricter AI regulations in schools due to concerns about student well-being, academic integrity, and the potential risks of unsupervised AI use. The AI Moratorium (AIM) Coalition in New York views the partial ban as progress but continues to advocate for comprehensive policies developed with input from educators, parents, and students. Educators emphasize the importance of addressing AI’s impact on teenagers, citing mental health concerns and the risk of overreliance on AI chatbots. The renewed restrictions by the nation’s largest districts highlight a growing grassroots movement demanding caution in integrating AI into education. Both districts now have a year to formulate longer-term AI policies. Given the organized opposition to lifting these restrictions, any future easing of AI rules is likely to face significant scrutiny from the school communities involved.