New York City Public Schools on Tuesday released its Guidance on Artificial Intelligence, a report that includes district policies on academic integrity, student privacy and data security.
The preliminary guidance will help educators and staff ensure how and when to use AI, education officials said.
"While there is no tool or resource in the world that can replace what our teachers bring to their classrooms every day, AI can be used as a powerful tool to make the work of our educators more efficient, giving them more time to focus on supporting our students as they develop essential critical thinking skills," Schools Chancellor Kamar H. Samuels said in a statement. "This guidance is designed to empower our educators to choose tools that support our students without compromising on safety or academic integrity, while teaching our children when and how to use AI appropriately."
The guidance on how school staff and teachers can use AI at work is split into three categories: red, yellow and green.
Red: What AI Will Never Be Allowed To Do In Schools
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Decisions About Students: Placement, discipline, eligibility, promotion, graduation, and program access require qualified human decision-making.
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IEP and 504 Plan Development: All special education documents are developed by qualified professionals.
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Assessments and Grading: The educator of record determines what a student knows. AI-generated data is advisory only.
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Surveillance and Behavior: Behavioral monitoring and student surveillance are prohibited.
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Care and Counseling: Counseling, crisis intervention, and therapeutic support are provided by qualified staff.
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Deciding a Child's Course Path: Every student has full access to advanced coursework. Any algorithmic pathway can be overridden by educators, leaders, or students.
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Protecting Data: Student data will not train AI models, be sold, or be used to make money. Personal information can only be entered into tools that have been reviewed and approved by NYCPS.
Yellow: Uses That Require Careful Judgment
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Student and School Data: AI may surface patterns in data. Educators interpret findings with knowledge of each student.
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Critical Communications: AI-generated translations must not be used as final content for critical communications. All translations must be reviewed, edited and approved by a qualified linguist prior to distribution to ensure accuracy, clarity and compliance. Only Enterprise Request Management Application-approved tools may be used to support translation of student or other sensitive information.
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Diverse Learners: AI may generate translations and transadaptions of bilingual instructional material as well as accommodations and scaffolds to support student learning, and all outputs must be reviewed by qualified staff, including certified bilingual and ENL teachers, and IEP team members as appropriate.
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Student Use of AI: Students may use AI for research, exploration, and creative projects. Educator guidance, critical evaluation of outputs, and age-appropriate context are required.
Green: Approved and Encouraged Uses
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Brainstorming and Organizing: Educators use AI to explore lesson ideas, approaches, and unit planning, aligned with intellectual property guidance.
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Drafting and Refining Communications: Educators may use AI to draft or refine materials on any topic. Human review and ownership are required before distribution of both sensitive and non-sensitive materials, with heightened attention to tone, accuracy, and impact.
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Simplifying and Streamlining: Educators and leaders use AI for scheduling, formatting, and summarizing non-sensitive information.
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Operational Data Synthesis: Leaders use AI to synthesize operational data and support resource planning.
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Translation: AI supports the translation of non-critical school communications for families and communities who prefer a language other than English. All AI-generated translations should be reviewed, edited, and approved by a qualified human reviewer prior to distribution. If that is not possible, a disclaimer must be included indicating that the translation was generated using AI, along with guidance on how recipients can request clarification or language support if needed.
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Accessibility: AI supports the creation of accessible materials for families and communities.
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Professional Learning: Educators and leaders use AI to support their own professional development, preparation, and research.
The guidance was developed over the last year in partnership and collaboration with the internal NYCPS AI Task Force, Panel for Education Policy Data Privacy Working Group, and AI Advisory Council, which includes industry leaders, scholars, educators, and school leaders.
Families, educators, and school leaders are invited to offer feedback on the AI guidance over the next 45 days – through May 8, 2026. Click here to access the online survey.
