{"id":330469,"date":"2026-08-26T20:32:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T20:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/330469\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T20:32:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T20:32:12","slug":"nyc-schools-face-software-freeze-as-first-day-approaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/330469\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC schools face software freeze as first day approaches"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sign up for Chalkbeat New York\u2019s free daily newsletter<\/a> to get essential news about NYC\u2019s public schools delivered to your inbox.<\/p>\n

After intense backlash to its initial artificial intelligence policy, New York City\u2019s Education Department ordered principals last month to halt software purchases while officials develop new guidelines.<\/p>\n

But the city has yet to release a new policy<\/a> or lift the purchasing freeze<\/a> despite the approaching Sept. 10 start of school<\/a>. Principals are increasingly worried they won\u2019t have access to key software programs \u2014 including electronic gradebooks and platforms teachers use to communicate with families \u2014 for the first day.<\/p>\n

Four public school administrators, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid reprisal, said they have been unable to make routine software purchases, even for programs they\u2019ve used for years that do not rely on AI.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo weeks before the start of school, we\u2019re not sure what we\u2019re going to be allowed to have and not allowed to have,\u201d said one Brooklyn high school principal. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge pain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels announced the moratorium on software purchases<\/a> in early July to give the city time to develop a stronger AI policy. An initial set of guidelines<\/a> released in March ignited fierce pushback from families<\/a> who said it did not do enough to limit AI, especially for young children.<\/p>\n

Samuels later acknowledged the policy \u201cmissed the mark\u201d<\/a> and indicated the final guidance would include clearer limits. An Education Department spokesperson did not respond to questions for this story, including about when the guidance will be released or when software purchases may resume.<\/p>\n

We’re on a need-to-know basis.<\/p>\n

Every weekday morning, Chalkbeat New York is bringing thousands of subscribers the news on public schools and education policy that they need to start their day. Sign up for our free newsletter to join them.<\/p>\n

That uncertainty is causing headaches for school leaders, who often use basic education software tools that require annual purchase orders.<\/p>\n

School leaders said they have been unable to renew subscriptions to digital hall passes<\/a> or electronic gradebooks, raising fears the programs will not be available for students\u2019 return. <\/p>\n

Another administrator was unable to order software programs designed to help students who need more support in reading and math, including i-Ready, a major tech platform<\/a>. Separately, the Education Department provides schools with access to i-Ready for required student assessments.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m concerned about the operation of the school,\u201d a second Brooklyn high school principal said. <\/p>\n

Samuels initially suggested that software tools required for \u201cmandated services or school opening needs\u201d would be exempt from the pause, though multiple principals said they have not yet heard back about their requests to buy software during the freeze. <\/p>\n

Some experts said the city has good reasons to be cautious about pressing ahead with education software tools, given concerns around student privacy<\/a>, data breaches<\/a>, and the proliferation of AI tools and chatbots added to products<\/a> that schools have long used.<\/p>\n

But Tom Liam Lynch, an expert<\/a> who previously worked on education technology for the Education Department, said the city is behind the curve in developing a clear digital learning strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really late in the game for the city to be figuring this out,\u201d he said, noting the school system has struggled<\/a> to adapt to AI<\/a>. <\/p>\n

He said that there are risks to releasing guidance so close to the start of the school. Principals typically plan well in advance of September and the last-minute technology policy could upend choices schools have already made about how to support teachers and students.<\/p>\n

\u201cSchools are unfortunately going to be in a position where they have to scramble with this,\u201d he said. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t lead to what you really want when it comes to quality pedagogy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alex Zimmerman is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sign up for Chalkbeat New York\u2019s free daily newsletter to get essential news about NYC\u2019s public schools delivered…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":330470,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[40045,43407,39834,124415,10585,33026,22553,16858,53679,659,24095,124416,53681,124417,2702,10958,9433,12747,88574,13152,67,124418,280,124419,124420,19553,23516,70733,48145,124421,660,124422,10962,2708,22554,33033,22555,33034,8750,124423,18987,9,56,63,65,64,13366,7319,124424,124425,1232,3419,76072,9107,31073,10780,124426,6781,48991,124427,31075,124428,124429,8413,63927,14747,45708,282,12412,40079,31082,87704,124430,35954,124431,98109],"class_list":["post-330469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-14-15-years","tag-access","tag-alberta","tag-calgary","tag-canada","tag-caucasian","tag-classroom","tag-club","tag-coding","tag-color-image","tag-communication","tag-computer-programmer","tag-computer-science","tag-concentrating","tag-connection","tag-convenience","tag-day","tag-dedication","tag-desk","tag-e-mail","tag-education","tag-emailing","tag-engineering","tag-expertise","tag-focusing","tag-girl","tag-girls","tag-guidance","tag-helping","tag-high-angle-view","tag-horizontal","tag-incidental-people","tag-indoors","tag-internet","tag-laptop","tag-leaning","tag-learning","tag-looking-down","tag-middle-school","tag-middle-school-student","tag-mobility","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-occupation","tag-online","tag-over-the-shoulder-view","tag-part-of-a-series","tag-people","tag-photography","tag-programming","tag-reading","tag-real-people","tag-school","tag-schoolgirl","tag-science","tag-selective-focus","tag-sharing","tag-sitting","tag-skill","tag-stem-topic","tag-student","tag-summer-camp","tag-teacher","tag-teaching","tag-technology","tag-teenager","tag-together","tag-two-people","tag-using","tag-using-laptop","tag-viewing","tag-watching","tag-wireless-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/330470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}