New York City has switched off or removed student-facing AI features in more than 38 classroom programs, and the list of affected products became public on Thursday 23 October 2026 through a Chalkbeat report. The case shows how a ban on AI in schools works in practice, product by product, for the largest US school system.
Key facts
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels announced a one-year moratorium on student-facing generative AI on Wednesday 2 September 2026, covering 2-K to grade 8 and nearly 600,000 students.
- Chalkbeat obtained the list of flagged products after more than a month of requests and published it on 23 October 2026.
- Amira, an AI reading tutor used in more than 200 city schools, was removed outright because it cannot run without AI.
- Companion chatbots are banned in all grades; exceptions cover assistive technology, multilingual learners and career-readiness courses such as computer science.
- High schools will pilot five AI programs under teacher supervision, capped at 45 minutes a week.
What is on New York’s list?
The restrictions target student-facing generative AI features, not necessarily whole products. Some vendors simply turned the AI off. Magma Math disabled its AI-generated hints on 4 September and was cleared to keep operating on 5 October, while assessment provider All In Learning, used in more than 100 city schools, removed its AI grading feature.
Others are out. The Education Department’s own “teaching assistant” chatbot, built with Microsoft and tested in six schools last year, lost student access. Coursemojo, an AI tutoring platform, and Google Gemini were confirmed as banned.
The list is contested. Translation tool Wordly says it does not use generative AI and is asking to be removed from the banned list, and publisher HMH says none of its flagged products, including Read180, use student-facing AI. The department has not explained how it decided which tools met its definition.
Samuels summed up the intent in September: “I don’t want technology to do our students’ thinking for them.”
AI in schools: a ban, a guideline or a pilot?
Europe is moving in a different direction. Portugal’s education minister, Fernando Alexandre, put non-binding guidelines on AI in schools out for public consultation on 15 October 2026, after about a year of work and hundreds of contributions. England’s Department for Education is testing AI tutors with eight companies, each paid GBP 360,000 including VAT, for a tool that could reach up to 450,000 disadvantaged pupils.
| System | Approach | Status in October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | One-year moratorium, 2-K to grade 8 | More than 38 programs disabled or removed |
| Portugal | Non-binding national guidelines | Public consultation opened 15 October |
| England | Government-funded AI tutoring pilots | School trials from autumn term 2026 |
Most European systems sit closer to Portugal. A Eurydice report published in September 2026 found that nearly two-thirds of education systems address AI through national strategies, guidance or policy frameworks, though implementation is at an early stage.
Why the evidence keeps pulling both ways
Students are not waiting. Eurostat data cited by the European Commission show four in ten young people aged 16 to 24 in the EU used generative AI for formal education in 2025.
Teachers are less prepared. Only 29.7% of EU teachers in the TALIS 2024 survey had taken professional development on AI for teaching and learning, and a Commission review published in September warned that better performance with AI does not always mean better learning. Students gained more when the tool supported their own thinking.
New York’s critics are split too. Some technology-committee chairs said the moratorium falls short, while some vendors dispute that their products use generative AI at all.
What this means for teachers and school leaders
Few schools will face a citywide ban. All of them face the same audit question.
- Inventory your tools. List every platform students use and ask suppliers in writing whether it contains student-facing generative AI, and whether that feature can be switched off.
- Separate teacher use from student use. New York kept lesson-planning uses for staff while restricting pupils; a written school policy should draw the same line.
- Train before you buy. With fewer than a third of EU teachers trained on AI, professional development should come before any rollout.
- Watch the pilots. Results from England’s AI tutoring trials and Portugal’s final guidelines will offer evidence that a moratorium cannot produce.
For a European reference on what pupils should learn about AI, see our coverage of the AI literacy framework for schools. Research on phones and attention in our study techniques review adds context on screen time.
FAQ
Does New York ban AI for teachers?
No. The moratorium targets student-facing generative AI. Reports indicate teachers can still use AI for planning and administration, but not for grading.
How long will the moratorium last?
It runs for one school year. Mamdani said it could be extended or changed depending on what officials learn.
Is any European country banning AI in schools?
None of the sources reviewed here reports a comparable ban; Eurydice describes mostly strategies and guidance.
Sources:
- Chalkbeat – NYC barred 38 AI tools in schools (23 Oct 2026)
- amNY – Mamdani AI moratorium in NYC public schools (2 Sep 2026)
- IBTimes UK – New York bans AI for nearly 600,000 students
- The Portugal News / Lusa – Portugal confirms flexible AI guidelines for schools (16 Oct 2026)
- European Commission – New reports on AI and digital technologies in education (Sep 2026)
- Tes – Limited evidence for AI tutoring tools, government says (17 Jun 2026)
