Hi friends,

Yesterday the DOE released their “AI guidance” for NYC schools and it is… not good. TLDR, NYC schools are embracing AI in schools for kids of all ages with few limitations or guardrails, and seems designed to shift responsibility for any harms that result to educators and schools, rather than the system as a whole, the mayor or the tech companies profiting off of our students. The guidance also fails to address any of our concerns around climate, surveillance, student mental health, bias and racism, learning or cognitive development, and the included privacy provisions are insufficient. We also feel strongly that the DOE’s approach is incompatible with the Mayor’s campaign commitment to Green and Healthy Schools. 

You can read the AIM Coalition's press statement and comments from our coalition partners on the DOE guidance here. 

Here’s what comes next:

The DOE has launched a 45-day process to “solicit feedback” from stakeholders.  Based on the quality of the survey they released with their guidance, it seems that this process is window dressing for a foregone conclusion. But it’s also an opportunity for concerned parents, students, educators and allies to organize, raise awareness about our campaign and demand better for NYC students.

Here’s what you can do:

1. Share our petition for a moratorium with your community. We’re at over 1600 signers now. Help us get thousands more that we can deliver in person to City Hall during the 45-day window. You can also sign the petition against opening an AI high school in Manhattan--community members are organizing against an AI high school, Next Gen Tech High School, which is being voted on at the next PEP meeting. Instead, they want to expand the 6-8 school to a 6-12 instead.

2. Join a meeting with parent leaders this Friday from 5-630 pm to learn about our campaign for a moratorium, what we can do in the next 45 days and what CECs are doing to fight back. You can RSVP here. We'll go over what the guidance says, why it's wrong for NYC schools, and how you can fight back. We know Friday evening is a rough time, but we wanted to get information in your hands quickly. If you can’t make it but are interested in working with your CEC to draft a resolution supporting a moratorium, or in joining our campaign, you can email us at aimoratoriumcoalition@gmail.com to set up a time to talk or to plan other information sessions. 

3. Follow us on social media: @aimcoalitionNYC on Bluesky and Instagram. We’ll be posting daily during the 45 days with action items and messaging you can share. 

4. Stay tuned. On Friday, we're going to be launching a toolkit and announcing the location of our next event. We'll send follow up information to everyone who RSVPs for the event, so even if you can't make it RSVPing will keep you in the loop.

None of this is inevitable, no matter what the tech oligarchs want us to believe. Just because a technology exists doesn’t mean it belongs in kindergarten classrooms. Our school system and our mayor have a responsibility to protect our students present and future, and that means hitting pause on AI in schools. But we need you– and your friends and neighbors– to win this fight.

Stay tuned, 

Kelly