{"id":122168,"date":"2026-03-13T23:20:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T02:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/899291742"},"modified":"2026-03-13T23:20:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T02:20:36","slug":"nyc-plans-new-ai-focused-school-as-rules-for-the-tech-are-delayed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/13\/nyc-plans-new-ai-focused-school-as-rules-for-the-tech-are-delayed\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC plans new AI-focused school as rules for the tech are delayed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A plan to create a new high school in Lower Manhattan dedicated to cutting-edge technology has fueled a debate over how artificial intelligence should be handled in New York City\u2019s public schools.<\/p>\n

The new selective school called Next Generation Technology High School proposes to prepare students for jobs in cybersecurity, computer science, robotics and advanced math. The education department wrote in its proposal<\/a> that the school would make students \u201cbuilders as well as ethical users of AI.\u201d There will be a hearing<\/a> on April 14 on the new school ahead of a vote by the Panel for Educational Policy.<\/p>\n

But many parents and educators have been sounding alarms over the role of AI in the city\u2019s schools \u2013 from plagiarism<\/a> to data security<\/a> \u2013 saying the education department has been slow to establish rules for the new technology.<\/p>\n

Officials had promised to deliver guidance on AI in early February, but now say they\u2019re still working on it.<\/p>\n

Some parents questioned how the city could seek to open a school next fall with a strong focus on AI before even establishing a policy on the tech.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear that they see AI as the new \u2018next big thing\u2019 and they don\u2019t want to be left behind. But social media was the new next big thing a few years ago and we are still coming to terms with its effects on our students,\u201d said Gavin Healy, a member of the community education council covering the proposed site near Bowling Green in Manhattan. \u201cThe possible effects of AI on student learning and social-emotional development are even less well understood. Given that, DOE leaders need to take a less evangelical and more critical approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

The debate over the school mirrors the raging national debates over the risks and rewards of the new technology.<\/p>\n

Some parents and educators view the Next Generation Technology school as a timely and necessary effort to offer advanced curricula in math, computer science and digital literacy. Students, they said, would get a valuable education in a booming field.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s a misconception because it was initially referred to as the \u2018AI high school,\u2019 that somehow this is a school where kids are just going to be on AI all day long. And that is absolutely not the case,\u201d said Deborah Alexander, a member of the Citywide Council on High Schools, which is an elected advisory group of parents. The council passed a resolution supporting the proposed school this week.<\/p>\n

She likened the current cultural moment with AI to the early days of the internet. \u201cWe need to train students who can create the technology that we want to see,\u201d Alexander said.<\/p>\n

As a selective school, admissions to the new school would be determined by grades.<\/p>\n

Alexander, a member of the group Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum Education, which advocates for selective schools, said parents are eager for the academic program the school would offer.<\/p>\n

Many integration<\/a> advocates oppose selective admissions because \u201cscreened\u201d schools tend to be disproportionately white.<\/p>\n

Speaking at a meeting of the District 2 community education council last month, Superintendent Gary Beidelman said the idea for the new high school came from listening sessions with parents and employers who are seeking high-level preparation in math, science and technology.<\/p>\n

He said the school would train \u201ccreators not just consumers\u201d and pursue partnerships with universities and companies. Carnegie Mellon University would offer students priority to join its summer program for technology research, and Google and OpenAI \u201chave been at the table,\u201d said Beidelman. The superintendent noted he had recently completed a fellowship with Google.<\/p>\n

If approved, the new school would take over the space currently occupied by the Urban Assembly School of Business for Young Women.<\/p>\n

Officials said that the school is the smallest public high school in the city, with only 91 students total this year and a 38% decline in enrollment over the last five years. The education department seeks to close that school after the current academic year.<\/p>\n

Officials said the new technology high school would start with a new freshman class in the fall and add a grade each subsequent year.<\/p>\n

The technology high school would share a building with Richard R. Green High School and Lower Manhattan Community Middle School. Some parents at the middle school were frustrated that the city is pushing a new school instead of expanding theirs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were upset because for years now it\u2019s been discussed that it should be expanded \u2026 so we were kind of shocked that it wasn’t even taken into consideration,\u201d said Lower Manhattan Community School parent Anne Hager. She said students at the popular middle school already have very limited access to the gym and other shared spaces.<\/p>\n

Hager said the AI focus also worries her. \u201cWe don\u2019t really yet understand what impact AI is going to have on students, and I don\u2019t have evidence that DOE has really thought this through,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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… school called Next Generation Technology<\/span> High School proposes to … even establishing a policy on the tech<\/span>. \u00e2\u0080\u009cIt\u00e2\u0080\u0099s clear that … educators view the Next Generation Technology<\/span> school as a timely … grade each subsequent year. The technology<\/span> high school would share …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122168\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}