Months before New York City barred generative AI from classrooms, Norway had already banned it nationwide — exposing a gap in the EU’s own AI rulebook.
Norway banned generative AI from its primary schools back in June, becoming one of the first countries in the world to draw a hard line against the technology in classrooms, months before the United States’ largest school district followed suit.
The Norwegian ban, which took effect at the end of August, covers grades one to seven and permits supervised use only up to the age of 16.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has said the technology risks letting children skip foundational steps in learning to read, write and do basic maths — concerns that have since echoed across the Atlantic.
Italy has taken a softer but still restrictive approach. Its Law 132/2025 has required parental consent for under-14s to use AI since October last year, rather than banning it outright — a second, distinct model for regulating AI in classrooms now in force within the EU.
Yet the European Union’s own AI Act does not directly address the tool at the centre of both countries’ concerns.
The legislation classifies education as “high-risk” under Annex III, but that only covers systems used by institutions on pupils, such as admissions decisions, exam monitoring and the assessment of learning outcomes.
It does not cover generative AI tools that pupils use themselves, such as chatbots used to help write homework. Those obligations are not even in force yet: a revision known as the “Digital Omnibus” pushed the Annex III compliance deadline back to December 2027.
One EU-wide rule is already binding, however. Article 4 of the AI Act has required companies deploying AI to ensure “sufficient AI literacy” since February 2025 — a requirement that pre-dates, and closely resembles, the literacy classes New York is only now introducing.
New York catches up
New York City has become the largest school district in the United States to follow Europe’s lead.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels announced on Wednesday a one-year moratorium on student-facing generative AI for children from 2-K through eighth grade, affecting nearly 600,000 pupils, or roughly two-thirds of the city’s total public school enrolment.
The city will also disable AI functions in more than 38 previously approved classroom programmes that do not meet its new safety standards, and will bar companion chatbots across all grade levels.
Teachers will still be permitted to use AI for lesson planning, but not for grading or crisis management.
High schools are only narrowly exempt. Up to 50,000 students will be able to join closely supervised pilot programmes, capped at five classes per school, while all other high schoolers will receive twice-yearly AI literacy lessons.
“The tech industry wants us to believe that AI-powered early education is not only inevitable, but necessary,” Mamdani said. “We do not see it that way.”
A patchwork response in the US, too
New York’s moratorium follows a similar, if less formal, move by the Los Angeles Unified School District, the country’s second-largest, which is temporarily blocking access to generative AI tools on student devices across all grades while it develops a permanent policy.
Los Angeles banned school-issued devices for its youngest pupils entirely in June as part of a broader screen-time policy.
At least 37 US states have issued official AI guidance for schools, though there is no shared definition of AI literacy or agreement on how it should be taught.
New York’s plan has drawn mixed reactions. Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, welcomed the new screen-time limits but said the AI policy “leaves many questions unanswered,” including how the city’s Education Department will ensure the software it buys has adequate safeguards.
Josh Golin, executive director of the children’s advocacy group Fairplay, said a one-year review period was too short, arguing the burden should fall on AI companies to prove their products are safe, effective and do not encourage cheating.
New York City’s public school students return to classrooms next week.
Additional sources • AP