{"id":380958,"date":"2026-10-23T18:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T18:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/380958\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T18:00:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T18:00:07","slug":"nyc-school-ai-ban-see-38-ed-tech-products-officials-say-violate-the-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/380958\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC school AI ban: See 38 ed tech products officials say violate the policy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know search engines like Google are changing the way you see news? Keep Chalkbeat\u2019s valuable education coverage at the top of your feeds by clicking here<\/a> and checking the box next to our name.<\/p>\n

Days before the school year started, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced new restrictions on student-facing artificial intelligence tools<\/a> used in hundreds of New York City public schools. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe will fully discontinue or disable the AI components of more than 38 previously allowed programs that do not meet our new safety and oversight standards,\u201d the mayor said<\/a>, though he did not share their names. <\/p>\n

After more than a month of requests, Chalkbeat obtained the list of products flagged by the Education Department. It includes widely used reading and math curriculums, student assessment tools, and even a chatbot the Education Department itself developed. <\/p>\n

Chalkbeat reached out to the companies behind all 38 products on the list. Several insisted their products don\u2019t use the kind of artificial intelligence prohibited under the city\u2019s policy and said they were unsure why they were flagged.<\/p>\n

The Education Department said its restrictions apply to student-facing generative AI features, not necessarily the entire products, and that it is working with companies to determine whether those features can be disabled. A handful of companies said they have already turned off the AI elements of their tools and have been given the green light to operate in city schools.<\/p>\n

The companies\u2019 confusion raises questions about how the Education Department vetted the products and implemented sweeping new restrictions just as the school year was getting underway. (The full list of flagged products, along with company responses, appears below.)<\/p>\n

Companies question why their products were flagged<\/p>\n

Some products were banned outright, including Amira, the controversial AI-powered reading tutor<\/a> used in more than 200 city schools. Education Department officials said it could not function without AI. The city also discontinued student access to the Education Department\u2019s own chatbot \u201cteaching assistant\u201d<\/a> that it built in partnership with Microsoft and was deployed in six schools last year.<\/p>\n

But other companies were baffled that their products appeared on the list at all.<\/p>\n

Wordly, a translation tool that helps educators communicate with students who are learning English, was flagged even though the company says it does not use generative AI, and the city\u2019s policy has a carveout for tools that help English language learners<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWordly is working on getting our product off the banned protocol,\u201d a company spokesperson wrote. <\/p>\n

Multiple products from HMH \u2014 a major player in the city\u2019s new reading curriculum mandate<\/a> and which employs former New York City schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos<\/a> \u2014 were also on the list of products that violate city policy. One of them is Read180, a program designed to help struggling readers. Another HMH product, Arriba la Lectura, is allowed for students learning English but not other students, according to the Education Department. HMH contends that none of its products on the city\u2019s list use student-facing AI.<\/p>\n

An Education Department spokesperson said they flagged products with student-facing generative AI but did not explain how they determined which tools met that definition, including in cases where companies disputed that their tools use AI. Officials said they are working with companies on a case-by-case basis to determine if their products can be used without AI and be reinstated. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe will continue to evaluate the evolving AI landscape and take the steps necessary to ensure implementation aligns with our student protections, individual needs, and educational priorities,\u201d Education Department spokesperson Onika Richards said in a statement. She said parents can contact their schools or local community education councils if they want more information about what tech tools their schools are using. <\/p>\n

The list is not exhaustive. Officials confirmed that other products, including the AI-powered tutoring platform Coursemojo and Google\u2019s Gemini chatbot, are also banned. (Education Department officials said Gemini was left out because it was already being deactivated for students, though it is unclear why that excluded it from the list.)<\/p>\n

Some critics cautioned against taking the companies\u2019 claims about their AI features at face value and called for a more thorough and transparent vetting process.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot trust the companies that they\u2019re not using student-facing AI,\u201d said Leonie Haimson, an education technology critic who has raised concerns<\/a> about whether approved technology tools are adequately protecting student data. \u201cYou cannot trust the DOE to independently evaluate and assess these products.\u201d<\/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

Other companies acknowledged that their products included AI features prohibited under the city\u2019s new policy and moved quickly to disable them.<\/p>\n

All In Learning, a Texas-based company that provides student assessment tools to more than 100 New York City schools, said it scrambled to disable the AI elements of their product as soon as they saw Mamdani\u2019s announcement. The product includes a feature that allows teachers to use AI to help them grade student responses, which is not allowed under the city\u2019s policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe turned on a dime,\u201d said Darren Ward, the company\u2019s chief sales and marketing officer, adding that the AI elements of the tool were not widely used. By the time Education Department officials reached out to the company, Ward said they were already in compliance. Schools were able to keep using the assessment platform without interruption, he noted.<\/p>\n

Magma Math, a digital math instruction platform, includes a feature that gives students AI-generated hints when solving problems and wound up on the city\u2019s list of products that violate its AI policy. Company officials said they turned off the AI component on Sept. 4, two days after Mamdani\u2019s announcement. They got the green light from the Education Department to continue operating in city schools on Oct. 5. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue to value student and teacher interactions above all else,\u201d Henrik Appert, the company\u2019s CEO, wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n

In addition to turning off AI features, Magma Math reps emphasized that they recently launched another product for districts that are under pressure to reduce screen time: paper versions of its math problems.<\/p>\n

Has your school been affected by new restrictions on AI tools? Let us know at ny.tips@chalkbeat.org<\/a><\/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

Michael Elsen-Rooney is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Michael at melsen-rooney@chalkbeat.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Did you know search engines like Google are changing the way you see news? Keep Chalkbeat\u2019s valuable education…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380959,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[40045,139621,43407,40052,81471,23992,2879,42288,10585,33026,25897,139622,98092,659,24095,2702,10958,24578,9433,139623,98093,139624,98095,13152,98096,67,98097,124418,98099,124421,11874,32423,136355,660,10962,2708,139625,22554,22555,40069,25450,18987,47215,98104,9,139626,92260,56,63,65,64,7319,1232,3419,139627,39919,9107,31073,25989,10780,25993,31075,139628,6088,8413,136362,282,139629,139630,40075,40076,12412,11081,6094,87704,124430,35954,98109],"class_list":["post-380958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-14-15-years","tag-16-17-years","tag-access","tag-asian-ethnicity","tag-bench","tag-black","tag-book","tag-british-columbia","tag-canada","tag-caucasian","tag-cell-phone","tag-checking","tag-classmate","tag-color-image","tag-communication","tag-connection","tag-convenience","tag-copy-space","tag-day","tag-dialing","tag-digital-tablet","tag-directly-above","tag-e-book","tag-e-mail","tag-e-reader","tag-education","tag-electronic-book","tag-emailing","tag-four-people","tag-high-angle-view","tag-high-school","tag-high-school-student","tag-homework","tag-horizontal","tag-indoors","tag-internet","tag-japanese-ethnicity","tag-laptop","tag-learning","tag-mixed-race-person","tag-mobile-phone","tag-mobility","tag-multi-ethnic-group","tag-native-american-ethnicity","tag-new-york","tag-north-vancouver","tag-notebook","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-online","tag-people","tag-photography","tag-portability","tag-preparation","tag-reading","tag-real-people","tag-receiving","tag-school","tag-sending","tag-sitting","tag-smart-phone","tag-sms","tag-student","tag-studying","tag-technology","tag-teenage-boy","tag-teenage-boys","tag-teenage-girl","tag-teenage-girls","tag-teenager","tag-text-messaging","tag-texting","tag-using","tag-using-laptop","tag-viewing","tag-wireless-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380958","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=380958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}