Nation’s largest school district bans AI in the classroom through 8th grade; CNN, September 2, 2026

Clare Duffy , CNN; Nation’s largest school district bans AI in the classroom through 8th grade

"New York City is banning the use of generative artificial intelligence for public school students from 2K through 8th grade, part of a larger move to restrict classroom technology in the nation’s largest school district.

The one-year moratorium will affect nearly 600,000 public school students, nearly two-thirds of the district’s total enrollment. As part of the policy rollout, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the district will “discontinue or disable the AI components of more than 38 previously allowed programs that do not meet our new safety and oversight standards.”

Mamdani announced the policy on Wednesday with New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels, saying it’s designed to protect students’ critical thinking abilities as well as the relationships between students and teachers."

How Big Tech Captured American Schools; The New York Times, August 23, 2026

 Natasha Singer, The New York Times; How Big Tech Captured American Schools

"One humid afternoon in the summer of 2025, representatives from Microsoft were waiting as some 200 teachers trooped into a conference hall in downtown Manhattan. The educators were there for a workshop on the school technology of the moment: artificial intelligence chatbots.

The Microsoft team gave a presentation on their Copilot chatbot and asked the teachers to practice using it for tasks like generating emails to parents and customizing lesson plans. Microsoft instructors also screened an A.I. explainer video that their Minecraft Education division had produced for children. The animated clip, based on the company’s blockbuster world-building game, featured a cheerful narrator and a cute Minecraft duck. Even if some schoolchildren weren’t old enough to use A.I., one of the Microsoft workshop leaders told the teachers in attendance, at least they could start learning about it.

As a journalist covering technology in schools, I had observed similar workshops for teachers and students that were funded or led by corporate giants like Amazon, Apple, Meta, OpenAI and Alphabet, the parent company of Google. Taking in this one, at the headquarters of the United Federation of Teachers, I was struck by how similar the sessions were to training I’d seen years earlier, while reporting on the health care industry: seminars for doctors, organized by pharmaceutical companies, that aimed to get physicians to prescribe the latest brand-name drugs.

“Industry funds what helps industry,” Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman, a pharmacology professor at Georgetown University Medical Center who studies drug industry influence on medicine, told me recently, as I was reporting a book about A.I. and computer science education in schools."

TEACHING AT PITT: AI v. AI — A case from the prosecution; University Times, May 15, 2026

  J. D. Wright, University Times; TEACHING AT PITT: AI v. AI — A case from the prosecution

"I’ve spent most of my career in higher education as one of the academic-integrity true believers — a zero-tolerance hardliner who prosecuted apparent violations with a zeal that might have made you wonder whether I was acting on a staunch commitment to the principles of academic honesty or just perceiving lapses in ethical judgment as personal affronts. In many ways, I’m the last person you’d expect to suggest that an enforcement-first approach to academic integrity, especially in recent years, undermines the work of teaching and learning.

And yet, here I am, making precisely that opening argument in support of my case."

Fostering ethical use of AI in K-12 education; Iowa Public Radio, March 20, 2026

Ben Kieffer, 

Samantha McIntosh

 , Iowa Public Radio; Fostering ethical use of AI in K-12 education

"The use of artificial intelligence in school has become more common since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. Today, a majority of U.S. teens say they use AI chatbots for school work, according to the Pew Research Center. 

On this episode of River to River, two Iowa-based educators who are working together in advancing ethical and human-centered approaches to artificial intelligence across K-12 education share their experiences. Iowa State University professor Evrim Baran is the project director of the Critical AI in Education Pathways Initiative, which launched a micro-credential course this month for educators. Chad Sussex founded the Winterset Community School District's AI task force, and has recently expanded into consulting for other school districts around the state.

Then we talk with Rebecca Winthrop, who coauthored a recent report that shares of the potential negative risks that generative AI poses to students, and what can be done to prevent them while maximizing the potential benefits of AI.

Guests:

• Evrim Baran, ISU professor of educational technology and human-computer interaction and Helen LeBaron Hilton Chair, College of Health and Human Sciences
• Chad Sussex, grades 7-12 assistant principal and AI task force leader, Winterset Community School District
• Rebecca Winthrop, senior fellow and director of the Center for Universal Education, Brookings Institution"

A code of ethics for AI in education; The Times of Israel, December 29, 2025

 Raz Frohlich, The Times of Israel; A code of ethics for AI in education

"Generative artificial intelligence is transforming every corner of our lives — how we communicate, create, work, and, inevitably, how we teach and learn. As educators, we cannot ignore its power, nor can we embrace it blindly. The rapid pace of AI innovation requires not only technical adaptation, but also deep ethical reflection.

As the largest education provider in Israel, at Israel Sci-Tech Schools (ISTS), we believe that, as AI becomes increasingly present in classrooms, we must ensure that human judgment, accountability, and responsibility remain at the center of education. That is why we are the first in Israel to create a Code of Ethics for Artificial Intelligence in Education. This is not just a policy document but an open invitation for discussion, learning, and shared responsibility across the education system.

This ethical code is not a technical manual, and it does not provide instant answers for daily classroom situations. Instead, it offers a holistic approach — a way of thinking, a framework for educators, students, and policymakers to use AI consciously and responsibly. It asks essential, core-value questions: How do we balance innovation with privacy? How do we ensure equality when access to technology is uneven? How do we maintain transparency when using AI? And when should we pause, reflect, and reconsider how we use AI in the classroom?

To develop the code, we drew from extensive global research and local experience. We consulted with ethicists, educators, technologists, psychologists, and legal experts — and, perhaps most importantly, we listened to students, teachers, and parents. Through roundtable discussions, they shared real concerns and insights about AI’s potential and its pitfalls. Those conversations shaped the code’s seven guiding principles, designed to help schools integrate AI ethically, transparently, and with respect for human dignity."