School Districts Emerge as Leaders in AI Regulation

Yesterday, New York City Public Schools and Los Angeles Unified School District announced restrictions on artificial intelligence for schools and students. Los Angeles bans AI use for all students on district devices until further notice, while New York City places a one-year moratorium on AI use for students 2-K through 8th grade with biannual AI modules for high school students. Chatbots and AI assistants like ChatGPT and Claude are banned for all students.

The policies are designed to ensure students learn in an environment that prioritizes human connection with educators and develop their critical thinking skills, but critics are concerned these policies prevent students from learning about AI from trusted adults. In the NY Daily News, Tech:NYC CEO Julie Samuels noted that nothing stops a student from using AI as soon as they exit a school building, and we need to build policies that contend with that reality. In a 10th grade classroom earlier this year, I asked how many of the students use AI. Every hand went up.

In both New York City and Los Angeles, AI guidelines follow a string of policies designed to curb the harmful effects of excess screen-time, phone use, and social media on young people. And like cell phones and social media, AI is becoming ubiquitous. These regulations may feel like we are pushing against the inevitable, but they also give us time to build guardrails.

Artificial intelligence is now part of every device we come in contact with. When searching on Google, you’re given Gemini AI-summaries, when writing a document in Microsoft Word, Copilot offers AI suggestions, when browsing photos on your iPhone, Apple Intelligence creates and suggests new memories. Work has also fundamentally changed as we race to understand how AI can improve our workflows or help us launch new businesses.

And while elected officials and school leaders have a responsibility to protect a student’s learning environment, they also must ensure that environment is preparing a student for the world they will graduate into. How do we ensure students are protected while preparing them with the skills and experience to tackle jobs that are required to use AI?

When I spoke to that group of 10th graders, they mentioned that they were using AI to brainstorm, look up information, and, of course, help with their homework. The questions preceded an activity that taught students how chatbots learn and use information. But with the new rules, middle schoolers will be expected to step into a high school classroom with little to no experience using AI.

I believe that, when done the right way, AI has unlimited potential to unlock a young person’s passion and creativity. And even though the AI bans appear limiting, they give me hope that New York City and Los Angeles are keeping AI top of mind. Leaders are not afraid to tackle difficult questions and are putting young people first. But what’s most important is what happens next. What new policies will school leaders develop that protect students while exposing them to the possibilities contained within responsible AI use? This is the first step to answering that question.