{"id":331275,"date":"2026-08-27T20:14:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T20:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/331275\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T20:14:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T20:14:09","slug":"chorus-of-voices-against-ai-and-big-tech-in-nyc-public-schools-grows-louder-ahead-of-first-day-of-classes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/331275\/","title":{"rendered":"Chorus of voices against AI and big tech in NYC public schools grows louder ahead of first day of classes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tensions continued to grow Wednesday during the final Panel on Education Policy (PEP) meeting<\/a> ahead of the 2026-2027 school year in September regarding the use of ed tech and AI in NYC Public Schools (NYCPS) .<\/p>\n

Parents and educators demanded answers from NYC Department of Education officials regarding ed tech policy, and again called for a two-year moratorium<\/a> on AI usage in classrooms.<\/p>\n

Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said little at the Aug. 26 meeting to indicate whether NYCPS would institute an AI moratorium or issue comprehensive guidance ahead of the start of classes on Sept. 10.\u00a0Parents, educators and advocates emphasized how imperative it was to have a plan in place before students began classes.<\/p>\n

A literal chorus of voices testified in front of the panel singing original lyrics opposing the use of AI in schools to the tune of the Village People\u2019s \u201cYMCA.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re here to say we want NO MORE AI
We\u2019re here to say we\u00a0 want NO MORE AI
It will burn everything
Make our water dirty
There\u2019s no need to let this happen\u201d<\/p>\n

The panel and Samuels were entertained at a minimum.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThat must have been the most convincing testimony I\u2019ve heard,\u201d Samuels said.\n<\/p>\n

Levity aside, those concerned about the use of AI in the classroom echoed messages they\u2019ve voiced for months leading up to the school year \u2014 namely a lack of research showing that ed tech and AI improves critical thinking and student outcomes, data security and transparency issues, and the threat of data centers to NYC\u2019s sustainability goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One woman, identified as Crystal, emphasized how difficult it would be to get up to speed with new guidelines issued so close to the start of a new school year.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are two weeks away from school starting, and we do not have a clear AI policy,\u201d she said. \u201cThis does not give schools any time to properly review the policy, ask questions [and] educate staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

The DOE has not provided amNewYork with comment on its updated AI policies.
\n\"SpeakersSpeakers waited in line to comment both on contracts to be approved and for open thoughts, many waiting for a period of three hours to speak both about contracts with big tech companies and on the lack of DOE\u2019s comprehensive AI policy just two weeks ahead of the new school year. Photo by Sadie Brown\n<\/p>\n

The Department of Education (DOE) initially issued guidelines in March<\/a> that fell flat; critics found the policy to be too general<\/a> across the educational spectrum, lacking specific measures by grade, and clear accountability efforts.<\/p>\n

The agency publicly acknowledged its misstep and vowed a more thorough and comprehensive playbook, but it blew past<\/a> its self-imposed deadlines to so. At a City Council hearing in June, agency reps said that it would not commit to a timeline.<\/p>\n

Parents and educators\u2019 patience was also wearing thin at Wednesday\u2019s PEP meeting.\n<\/p>\n

Aixa Rodriguez carried a sign reading \u201cLibraries are the only data centers that NYCPS should fund!\u201d She was frustrated that the DOE was asking to approve more on tech contracts than physical textbooks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been saying this for a long time, get back to the basics, stop spending money where it doesn\u2019t belong, because libraries are the only data centers that we should fund,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

FOCUS Act aims to regulate tech and AI in classrooms<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, State Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Brooklyn) introduced legislation on Aug. 21 proposing regulations on technology in education on everything from screen time to AI in classrooms to data privacy and contract transparency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He told amNewYork the Fostering Optimal Classroom Use of Screens (FOCUS) Act was developed by partnering with parents, educators and stakeholders to map out a vision of a school experience that centered kids over technology. As the parent of a child entering Kindergarten this year, Gounardes said he was especially sensitive to the discourse around the lack of guardrails around AI, screen time and data privacy in schools.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aIt was kind of like a growing crescendo over the last couple of years, but certainly over the last couple of months I would say it\u2019s gotten particularly loud,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

Under the bill, schools would give families the \u201cright to analog learning\u201d; require schools to prioritize assignments that can be completed without screens whenever possible; and prevent school-issued devices from having social media, chatbots and a list of other distracting or demonstrably harmful features.<\/p>\n

The bill also focuses on transparency by requiring all ed tech companies to register with the State Attorney General before being able to do business with school districts in the state. NYCPS parents have reported to amNewYork that they have been unable to get a clear picture from the DOE about what specific apps or technology their student is using, even though filing Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Back to basics?<\/p>\n

Fourth grade educator Martina Meijer said that for her and many teachers in her school, relying less on technology-based tools is benefiting their students. Meijer said that she and her fellow educators chose to use technology and standard curriculum as guidelines, but felt empowered as educators to make the best choices for their students, including leaning more towards analog methods like books over screens.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aEven though we\u2019re repeatedly on the same grade and we\u2019re working with the same material and the same standards, we never present the material the same way because the children are different in front of us,\u201d Meijer said. \u201cThe current events are different, the references are different, the songs are different, and the memes are different and the jokes are different.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said they\u2019ve seen consistent positive returns, with the recent ELA scores at her school exceeding the citywide average by 10 points and math scores by an even greater margin.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about seeing the joy that the children bring, seeing their brilliance, and tapping into that,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd there\u2019s no way an AI chatbot can do that. There\u2019s no way that a scripted curriculum can do that, because it was written by people who have far less teaching experience than I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Parents,Parents, educators, lawmakers and advocates are concerned about the rush to incorporate technology, especially AI into NYC\u2019s learning spaces and are calling on the city to hit pause and return to more analog methods until stricter guardrails can be put in place. Photo by Sadie Brown<\/p>\n

Local lawmakers have also been supportive of leaning into more traditional methods of teaching before relying heavily on tech and AI.<\/p>\n

City Council Member Eric Dinowitz (D-Bronx), chair of the Council\u2019s Education Committee, told amNewYork that young New Yorkers can benefit the most from foundational learning techniques and advocated for strong legislation like the Gounardes\u2019 FOCUS Act to protect students and preserve education.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur youngest students learn best through hands-on instruction and real engagement with their teachers,\u201d Dinowitz said. \u201cWe need enforceable guardrails on classroom screen time. New York City spends billions of dollars each year on technology contracts with little accountability, and this legislation takes a strong stance against the wild proliferation of screens and tech in our schools with little evidence it benefits kids\u201d<\/p>\n

In previous oversight hearings, Dinowitz has criticized the DOE for a lack of expediency in responding to the rapidly changing tech environment. In the meantime, he lauded Gounardes for introducing a bill that would take swift and decisive action.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cReal reform requires every level of government working together, and I credit State Senator Andrew Gounardes for his leadership in the state senate on this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tensions continued to grow Wednesday during the final Panel on Education Policy (PEP) meeting ahead of the 2026-2027…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":331276,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[3250,67,9,56,63,65,64,5530,5271],"class_list":["post-331275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-ai","tag-education","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-nyc-schools","tag-schools"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331275","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=331275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/331276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}