NYC & LA Just Banned AI in Schools: What Does It Mean for Your School?
As New York City and Los Angeles, two of the nation’s largest districts, announce they are banning AI in K-8 (NYC) and in K-12 (LA), districts across the country are facing a question that is becoming impossible to ignore: Are we next? AI conversation doesn’t have to be a choice between banning technology and embracing it without limits.
Join Geoffrey A. Fowler, Head of Public Engagement at Common Sense Media, for a timely edWebinar conversation examining what schools need to know as they navigate the rapidly changing AI landscape. Laura Zimmermann, Ph.D., Director of Youth AI Research, shares the research and help administrators and educators understand what the evidence tells us about how tweens and teens are using AI today—both at home and for school.
Robbie Torney, Head of AI & Digital Assessments, examines AI risk, offering a practical lens for understanding and assessing risks and benefits related to student age, context, privacy, and safety. Eisha Buch, Head of Teaching and Learning, introduces an Age & Stage Guide, a developmentally appropriate framework for the gradual use of AI that helps schools move beyond an all-or-nothing approach and toward intentional, age-appropriate implementation.
Rather than asking simply, “Should schools ban AI?” we explore a more productive question: “How can schools introduce AI in ways that protect what matters most about learning—human connection, curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking?” The conversation culminates in a practical Age & Stage Guide for the Gradual Use of AI, offering a proactive framework for administrators, educators, students, and families to understand what responsible AI use can look like across K–12.