New York · Innovation

NYC pauses school software purchases while AI guidance remains unfinished

Chancellor Samuels directed principals to halt new tech buys until revised AI rules arrive, following backlash to a March draft that drew 6,500 public comments. Central staff will review pending orders, and some may be denied.

School Decision NewsroomJuly 10, 2026

New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels directed principals on July 7, 2026, to pause purchases of new educational software until the Education Department releases revised artificial intelligence guidance, now expected later this summer after a June deadline lapsed. Central staff will review pending orders and may delay or deny some, according to Samuels's email to school leaders. Software required for mandated services or school opening needs is exempt from the freeze.

A March draft and its backlash

The department released preliminary AI guidance on March 24, 2026, using what it called a traffic light approach. AI was barred for grading, promotions, discipline, and counseling, while permitted for lesson planning and certain family communications. Students could use AI for research, exploration, and creative projects, provided educators guided them and outputs were critically evaluated in age-appropriate contexts, per the DOE's published guidance.

The draft drew nearly 6,500 public comments and widespread criticism that it was too permissive. Scores of parents and educators, along with more than half the City Council, signed a push for an AI moratorium in city schools. Samuels acknowledged in May 2026 that the initial guidance was inadequate, characterizing AI as an exceptionally invasive technology and signaling that the final version would impose stricter limits for younger students.

Delayed timeline and new oversight bodies

First Deputy Chancellor Danielle Giunta announced at a City Council hearing in June that the final AI guidance, originally due that month, would be pushed to later this summer. Officials have not yet released the public comments but told council members they would do so.

The Panel for Educational Policy formed a task force on technology and artificial intelligence in June 2026, co-led by PEP member Naveed Hassan. Separately, the New York State comptroller recently flagged the lack of tracking for school-level software purchases as a serious concern. DOE officials have since surveyed schools about which software products they use.

Impact on school budgets and planning

Principals say the July directive lands after budgets and intervention plans for the coming year are already built. A principal contacted by Chalkbeat said changing direction in mid-summer complicates planning that was well underway.

The freeze may also affect software schools have used for years. Schools typically must submit new purchase orders annually even for existing programs, which could bring those renewals under the purchasing pause and central review.

Before any AI tool can be deployed in a city school with student data, it must pass through the DOE's Enterprise Request Management Application, or ERMA, review for data privacy and security compliance, according to the department's published guidance.

Update - August 20, 2026

As of mid-August 2026, with less than a month before more than one million students return to classrooms, the Education Department had still not released its revised AI guidance or the results of its school software survey, leaving the purchasing freeze in effect without a clear end date. First Deputy Chancellor Danielle Giunta told council members in June she could not commit to a release date, and the department had not provided one since [10].

Education Committee Chair Eric Dinowitz said he met with Chancellor Samuels in August to discuss the stalled policy and reiterated his support for a temporary AI moratorium, especially for younger students. Advocates, including the AIM Coalition of 15 organizations, warned that beginning the school year without finalized rules would make it harder to course-correct once students and teachers are in classrooms [10].

Analysis

By the School Decision Newsroom, written after the reporting above was filed.

Portland did the same thing two weeks earlier, and what they found is alarming

Portland Public Schools' board voted unanimously on June 24, 2026, to pause all generative AI contracts and require a full inventory within 120 days. The trigger was a $5,160 pilot with Amira Learning, an AI reading tutor used at 10 schools, whose contract allowed collection of student data including place of birth, migrant status, disability information, and foster care status. A board member flagged that federal immigration officers could obtain that data with a judicial warrant. NYC's freeze is a broader version of the same instinct: stop buying until you know what you already have and what it takes.

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The department freezing purchases doesn't know what software its schools already use

A New York State comptroller audit published April 23, 2026, found that NYC Public Schools does not maintain a comprehensive list of applications used at each school. Of 524 schools that responded to the comptroller's survey, 218, or 42 percent, reported using at least 70 different student information systems beyond the two central systems. The audit also found NYCPS delayed reporting 48 percent of data breaches to the state. When a PowerSchool breach occurred, officials could not identify which schools were affected. The purchasing freeze is the first real effort to impose centralized control over a system that has operated without a reliable inventory.

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Samuels called AI an opportunity in April. The freeze is a concession, not his instinct.

In an April 2026 interview with The Bell, Samuels said of AI: "we can't be crippled by that fear" and called it something that "can serve in ways to accelerate learning." He framed the March draft as partly inherited, telling Gothamist the guidance was "largely the product of plans set in motion by the Adams administration." By July he had reversed course under 6,500 public comments, a City Council moratorium push signed by more than half its members, and a state audit exposing systemic data failures. The freeze reflects political pressure and audit findings, not a chancellor who started out skeptical of classroom technology.

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Sources

Chalkbeat. Kamar Samuels asks NYC schools to pause software purchases amid AI backlash View
GovTech. New York City Schools Temporarily Pause Tech Purchases View
Gothamist. All education tech purchases on pause as NYC schools wrestle with AI View
Chalkbeat. NYC delays school AI rules after criticism of draft guidance View
NYC Public Schools. Guidance on Artificial Intelligence View
Willamette Week. School Board Pauses Generative Artificial Intelligence in PPS View
Office of the New York State Comptroller. Privacy and Security of Student Data (NYCPS Audit, April 2026) View
The Bell. Exclusive Interview with Chancellor Kamar Samuels View
Gothamist. All education tech purchases on pause as NYC schools wrestle with AI View
amNewYork. NYC public schools still haven't updated controversial AI guidelines less than a month before classes resume View