A growing number of states and school districts are trying to put limits on artificial intelligence in public schools, as educators, parents and researchers debate whether the technology is helping children learn or allowing them to bypass the very skills classrooms are meant to develop. The pushback comes as the Trump administration encourages wider AI adoption and technology companies expand their education offerings. But the movement is not a uniform effort to eliminate AI from schools.
Some jurisdictions are restricting student access to chatbots, while others are establishing rules for privacy, academic integrity, teacher oversight and automated decisions about students. Meanwhile, some school districts are treating the technology as a potential teaching aid rather than something to keep out of the classroom. In Decatur, Georgia, middle-school students have used AI to explore different ways to solve math problems, while the district has tested an AI-powered tool to help high-schoolers prepare for exams.
At the state level, Alabama and Utah have incorporated AI literacy into required coursework, while Idaho, Maryland and Virginia have established frameworks or pilot programs intended to encourage AI use with safeguards. New York City has adopted one of the country's most expansive restrictions on student-facing generative AI. In September, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels announced a one-year moratorium covering students from prekindergarten through eighth grade for the 2026-27 school year.
AI companion chatbots are prohibited across all grades, while limited high-school pilots and AI literacy instruction remain part of the policy. Separately, Assemblymember Robert Carroll has sponsored legislation that would prohibit most AI use in classrooms before ninth grade, with limited exceptions, for schools across the state. The city's approach reflects concerns that students could become overly dependent on automated systems before developing essential academic and social skills.
City officials say they want to ensure technology supports children's development rather than undermining it. The restriction applies to New York City's public school system, not every school in New York state. A separate statewide proposal, Assembly Bill A9190, would prohibit most classroom AI use before ninth grade, with exceptions for certain diagnostic and special-education purposes.
The proposal is distinct from the city's existing moratorium. California is taking a different approach. The Los Angeles Unified School District announced restrictions on student use of generative AI on school-issued devices for the current school year.
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