New York City Public Schools and the Los Angeles Unified School District have paused the use of artificial intelligence in classrooms, citing student safety. But the restrictions do not necessarily prevent students from using AI elsewhere, leaving schools with questions about how to assess whether tools are safe and effective, according to an EdSurge podcast discussion published October 28, 2026.
Yvette Renteria, chief program officer at Common Sense Media, supports a pause for now but says students will ultimately need to learn to use AI responsibly. The organization’s Youth AI Safety Institute has tested leading chatbots with simulated teen personas. Renteria says it has not yet identified a tool that is both valuable for children and suitable for learning.
She also points to a Common Sense Media survey in which more than half of teens whose schools blocked an AI tool said they switched to using it on a personal device. Renteria argues that restrictions should be accompanied by AI literacy education.
Jaime Casap, a former chief education evangelist at Google, takes a different approach to evaluating classroom AI. Writing about New Mexico’s AI reading screener, which has faced strong backlash, he argues that distinct tools should not be treated as interchangeable: a reading tool is not the same as a chatbot. He says decisions should be based on evidence and raises concerns about the effects on students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The discussion centers on how schools can weigh potential risks against the need to prepare students to understand and use AI.
Sources: EdSurge.