NYC Public Schools delays release of AI ‘playbook’ to guide classroom use

New York City Public Schools will hold up its release of final guidance on artificial intelligence in the classroom — again.

Top education officials confirmed the delay during a grueling City Council hearing on Wednesday, as a coalition of local parents and advocates continues to call for a two-year pause on the use of generative AI in schools.

“We thought after we launched the initial guidance that, by the end of the year, we’d be able to really use the feedback to get us to this playbook,” said Danielle Giunta, the top deputy to Chancellor Kamar Samuels, who was not at the hearing. “But the feedback actually is taking us in new directions.”

“And so, right now, we are not racing into a playbook. We are carefully considering how to build out the original guidance that puts us on stronger footing,” she added.

Giunta assured schools they will have “clarity before the new year begins.”

The city’s school system first released AI guidance in March, with a 45-day public comment period and a final playbook due in June.

During that window, which ended on May 8, the system received 6,491 responses to a citywide survey on the guidance, school officials testified at the hearing.

Families and advocates also showed up at monthly school board meetings, City Hall protests and other public forums to grab the chancellor’s attention and ask Mayor Mamdani to intervene. Twenty-nine of 51 councilmembers have called for an immediate pause.

Education officials said they’re taking those responses to heart.

“Some of that feedback really shared with us (the demand for) a bit of a slowdown, in order to really be thoughtful and strategic,” said Miatheresa Pate, the chief academic officer of the public schools.

While the playbook is on hold, education officials said they were in the process of surveying principals and superintendents on what AI products are being used in schools. They also plan to develop an AI tool “scorecard” — starting with programs for teachers, before expanding to student-facing applications — to provide a “more in-depth assessment” of each product, according to their testimony.

Those next steps did little to alleviate councilmembers’ concerns.

“There are huge gaps in our understanding of how the technology is being deployed and when,” said Councilwoman Carmen De La Rosa (D-Manhattan), chairperson of the Committee on Technology, who signed onto the Council letter.

The final guidance is expected to say more on the “developmental appropriateness” of different AI tools and uses in schools, depending on students’ ages and grade levels, education officials said. It could also strengthen the current review process for AI products, in an effort to evaluate tools not only for data privacy concerns — as it aims to do today — but also for educational value and possible bias.

But some councilmembers were more concerned about the school system falling behind the evolution of the new technology.

“I’ve had multiple principals tell me, when it comes to this AI stuff, they’re frightened, and they feel like there isn’t enough guidance,” said Councilman Eric Dinowitz (D-Bronx), chairperson of the Committee of Education. “They feel like they’re building the plane as they’re flying it. That was an actual phrase multiple principals have said.”

“We need to be moving a lot faster,” said Councilwoman Virginia Maloney (D-Manhattan). “Because while we are slowing down, AI development is not slowing down. (The) workforce is shifting, and people are going to be using this in everyday life.”