NYC schools software freeze holds as AI policy misses the start of term

Principals in the largest school district in the United States still cannot buy educational software, eight weeks after Chancellor Kamar H. Samuels asked them to stop. The pause was meant to last until New York City Public Schools finished rewriting its NYC schools AI policy “later this summer”. As Chalkbeat New York reported on 26 August, neither the policy nor the lifting of the freeze had arrived, and the first day of school is Thursday 10 September 2026.

Four public school administrators told Chalkbeat they have been unable to make routine purchases, including for programs they have used for years that do not rely on artificial intelligence. All four spoke anonymously to avoid reprisal. One Brooklyn high school principal said the school was “not sure what we’re going to be allowed to have and not allowed to have”. An Education Department spokesperson did not answer Chalkbeat’s questions about when the guidance would appear or when purchasing might resume.

What the NYC schools AI policy pause covers

Samuels sent the request in an email to principals on Monday 6 July 2026, first posted by independent journalist Susan Edelman and obtained by Chalkbeat. The New York Daily News quoted the email directly: “to ensure alignment, we are advising you today to pause educational software purchases until we share updated guidance.” Central staff would review remaining orders closely, and orders could be delayed or denied. Gothamist reported that principals had been ordered to hold off until later in the summer, quoting Samuels: “We are now working to develop a longer term, more robust policy based on our spring public feedback process.”

The wording matters, and the sources differ on it. The email says “advising”; Chalkbeat’s July report said Samuels “asked” principals; Gothamist and Chalkbeat’s August follow-up both describe an order. In practice the effect is the same, because every purchase order now passes through a central review that can stop it.

Samuels initially indicated that software needed for “mandated services or school opening needs” would be exempt. Several principals told Chalkbeat they have had no answer to those requests. Because schools in New York City often have to file a fresh purchase order each year for software they already use, renewals of long-standing, non-AI tools have been caught alongside new products. Chalkbeat named electronic gradebooks, family communication platforms and digital hall passes among the affected categories, and reported that i-Ready was among the tools involved, although the Education Department separately supplies schools with i-Ready access for required assessments. No other outlet has named a specific product.

The district’s scale sets the size of the problem.

Sources: New York City Public Schools “Data at a Glance”; NYCPS guidance on artificial intelligence; NYCPS Data Privacy and Security Compliance Process; NYCPS 2026-27 school year calendar; comment total from First Deputy Chancellor Danielle Giunta at a City Council hearing on 24 June 2026, reported by Chalkbeat.

How the guidance ran aground

The department published “AI Guidance for Educators and School Leaders” on 24 March 2026. It sets out a traffic light framework aimed at staff. Red covers uses that are off limits with no exceptions, among them decisions about student placement, discipline, promotion and graduation, the development of IEPs and 504 plans, assessment and grading, surveillance of behaviour, counselling, and the sale or model-training use of student data. Yellow allows uses with adult oversight, and the document places student use of AI in that tier. Green covers brainstorming, drafting communications, translation, accessibility and professional learning. The department says the text reflects engagement with 1,000 stakeholders, 25 rounds of feedback and 150 contributors.

The placement of student use in the yellow tier drew the sharpest criticism. Families argued the guidance did little to limit AI for young children. At a Panel for Educational Policy meeting on 29 April 2026 that ran close to seven hours, more than 100 New Yorkers testified and campaigners pressed for a two-year moratorium on AI in city schools. In early June, 29 City Council members, a majority of the body, signed a letter urging Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Samuels to pause AI use in schools.

Samuels addressed the reaction at Bank Street College of Education on 26 May 2026. “We missed the mark,” he said, according to a partial recording shared with Chalkbeat, adding that the department had not communicated in a way that showed it understood where it stood. He described AI as “the most invasive technology that we’ve seen” and said the department was looking closely at restricting use for children aged three to five.

The 45-day comment window closed on 8 May 2026 with nearly 6,500 submissions. Tara Carrozza, the department’s director of digital learning initiatives, told a District 1 meeting that 48 per cent came from educators and 42 per cent from parents. A final “AI Playbook” was promised for June. On 24 June, First Deputy Chancellor Danielle Giunta told the City Council it was delayed. The March guidance remains published, with a banner saying the department is working to fold more feedback into the coming playbook. Nine questions were explicitly deferred to it, including biometric and behavioural data, bias and equity review, guidance by grade band, homework and academic integrity, family notification and rights, cognitive offloading, managed tools versus personal accounts, and environmental impact.

The vetting system the freeze sits on top of

New York City already screens education software before schools may use it. Under the department’s data privacy and security compliance process, schools and central offices cannot use products that view, receive or store student personally identifiable information, or staff APPR data, until the vendor completes that process. Requests are filed in the Enterprise Request Management Application, which only principals, superintendents, single points of contact and central executives may initiate. The department states the full review takes about three months once a vendor returns its completed questionnaire and documents. Vendors must disclose any use of AI and may not use information from the district to train AI models.

The tests applied are the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, New York State Education Law section 2-d and Chancellor’s Regulation A-820. Section 2-d is implemented through Part 121, adopted by the Board of Regents on 13 January 2020 and effective on 29 January 2020. AI-specific standards were added to the department’s vendor review in December 2024. There is no public list of approved vendors; the department’s own vendor page states that the entities listed there are not a comprehensive list of approved vendors.

What the department could not answer in July was how much AI software was already in use. Officials told Chalkbeat they do not always track purchases made at school level, an omission the state comptroller flagged in an audit published on 23 April 2026 that found the district’s policy did not fully align with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and had not evaluated tools for algorithmic bias, equity impact or instructional effectiveness. A survey asking schools which software they use went out after the freeze began.

Tom Liam Lynch, who previously worked on education technology for the Education Department, told Chalkbeat: “It’s really late in the game for the city to be figuring this out.”

Background: New York City’s four years of AI decisions

New York City has changed position on classroom AI more than once. On 3 January 2023 the department blocked ChatGPT on its networks and devices, citing concerns about learning, safety and accuracy. Chancellor David C. Banks reversed the block on 18 May 2023 in a Chalkbeat op-ed, writing that “the knee-jerk fear and risk overlooked the potential of generative AI to support students and teachers”. In October 2023 the district and the non-profit InnovateEDU announced an AI Policy Lab; no clear district-wide policy followed under Banks. In December 2024 the department added AI-specific standards to its vendor vetting.

Samuels took office in January 2026 and named his senior leadership team in March, the same month the draft guidance appeared. Governance still runs through a 76-member Central AI Task Force and an external AI Advisory Council that, according to Chalkbeat, includes education technology partners from Google and OpenAI. Other districts have moved faster on narrower questions, as with the Katy ISD policy limiting AI chatbots for K-6 students, and states have issued their own frameworks, among them the Texas AI in Education Task Force and its four steps and the federal education technology guidance issued for schools. New York City’s answer is still unpublished, and its 1,597 schools open in under two weeks.

Sources: Chalkbeat New York; Chalkbeat New York; Gothamist; Government Technology, New York Daily News; New York City Public Schools; New York City Public Schools; New York City Public Schools InfoHub; Chalkbeat New York; New York City Public Schools calendar

Featured image: photo by Yan Krukau on Pexels (free Pexels license).

Become a Sponsor

Our website is the heart of the mission of WINSS – it’s where we share updates, publish research, highlight community impact, and connect with supporters around the world. To keep this essential platform running, updated, and accessible, we rely on the generosity of you, who believe in our work.

We offer the option to sponsor monthly, or just once choosing the amount of your choice. If you run a company, please contact us via info@winssolutions.org.

• donate monthly
• donate once only

Select a Donation Option (USD)

$5.00 (p/m) $10.00 (p/m) $20.00 (p/m) Other (p/m)

Enter Donation Amount (USD)

Figen Sekin

I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.