Testimony on screen time and the use of digital devices in city schools

Testimony of UFT Vice President for Education Mary Vaccaro delivered before the City Council Committee on Oversight and Investigations on Examining Screen Time and the Use of Digital Devices in New York City Public Schools

My name is Mary Vaccaro, and I am the vice president for education at the United Federation of Teachers (UFT). On behalf of the union’s 200,000 members, I want to thank Chairperson Shekar Krishnan and the Committee on Oversight and Investigations for holding today’s hearing on screen time and the use of digital devices in New York City Public Schools (NYCPS). I would also like to thank Chairperson Eric Dinowitz and the Committee on Education for their attention to this pressing issue that students, parents and school staff grapple with daily. 

As educators, we strive to provide students with the best education and learning experience possible. Screens, digital devices and artificial intelligence (AI) enhance our ability to do this, but only when they are used appropriately as tools to support learning, and not as a replacement for interpersonal relationships and hands-on experiences. 

To date there has been very little regulation and guidance from federal, state and — until recently — New York City government on the use of AI in schools and how to protect students. Earlier this month, NYCPS released guidance on generative AI and screen time. There are many aspects of the policy that we support. Banning individual screen use in 2-K through 2nd grade makes sense, as does limiting individual screen time for grades 3-8, and reviewing what's appropriate for 9-12 based on individual courses. The NYCPS screen policy also gives schools flexibility for students with disabilities and English language learners whose educational programs require a device, or for when the system or a school needs to go remote. However, NYCPS’s AI policy leaves many questions unanswered for educators, students and families.

To fill in these gaps, the UFT has jumped in to ensure teachers have the knowledge they need to protect students and implement AI responsibly. The UFT has played a pivotal role in creating and running the American Federation of Teacher’s (AFT) National Academy for AI Instruction, based here in New York City. The Academy is a training hub designed and overseen by educators, grounded in trust, safety and people-first technology, and built directly on the AFT’s Commonsense Guardrails for Using Advanced Technology in Schools. In less than a year, the Academy has provided professional learning on AI to 13,000 educators. Educator-led AI initiatives, including the Academy for AI Instruction, demonstrate that responsible implementation works best when teachers are collaborators in design and evaluation rather than passive recipients of externally developed tools and mandates. 

Further, just last week, we agreed to a landmark AI Safety and Privacy Standard (Standard) with Microsoft that establishes protections for AI use in education. This Standard is a binding Memorandum of Agreement between the Academy and any AI provider that the Academy engages with to provide services to students and educators. The protections within the Standard are centered around three main priorities:

1. Protecting Privacy. Student and educator data will not be used to train AI models or be sold or used for advertising. Schools will maintain control over how data is used, retained and deleted.
2. Enhancing Safety.  Students and educators will be protected by strong security, safeguards and human oversight.
3. Providing Transparency and Control. Families will receive clear, accessible information about how AI is used in schools and the existing safeguards. Schools will control when and how AI is used.

This Standard creates clear safeguards around the use of AI in schools and leaves little room for interpretation. 

Notably these protections are not just for the AFT AI Academy. Beginning in November 2026, this Standard will become available to every school district in the United States. Districts will be able to add these contractually enforceable protections to new or existing agreements with Microsoft, with no contract renegotiation or renewal required. 

Additionally, the UFT supports the city’s one-year moratorium on generative AI in schools. This is an important first step, and as we consider what comes after the ban, we encourage the city to look at AFT President Randi Weingarten’s 10-point plan aimed at directing and protecting student engagement in the AI era. The city should also turn to the resolution passed last May with our state affiliate, New York State United Teachers, that put forth recommendations for limits on classroom technology. The recommendations include:

1. No one-to-one devices or online testing in prekindergarten through grade 2, except to support students with documented needs such as translation or special education.
2. A paper-and-pencil testing option for every student, as called for in NYSUT’s “More Teaching, Less Testing” report.
3. No student-facing AI for students in prekindergarten through grade 2.
4. No noneducational AI for students in grades 3 through 8.
5. AI use in any grade only when it is supervised, educator-led and designed to build critical thinking, digital literacy and civic readiness — not to replace human instruction, creativity or judgment.
6. No “social companion” chatbots — programs that simulate human relationships — for children under 16.

These recommendations are not intended to ban or demonize screens and AI. They are intended to ensure that these tools do not replace the human interactions that are critical to a well-rounded education. 

                In closing, I would like to highlight that we know policies limiting screen time and the use of digital devices have a positive impact on our students. Our union was a strong supporter of the cellphone ban that went into effect in September 2025 across New York state, which has proven to be immensely successful. According to the governor’s office, 80% of teachers and school administrators saw that this initiative led to positive outcomes for their students. These educators saw their students become more engaged in the classroom and with one another, and observed a decline in bullying and cyberbullying. We have heard countless similar anecdotes from our members. Rather than scrolling mindlessly during lunch periods, students are laughing, talking and interacting with their peers. 

The results of the cellphone ban emphasize the need for more policies like it in New York City, and I once again thank you for the opportunity to discuss this critical issue within our schools. I look forward to our continued collaboration as we ensure that technology helps rather than hurts our students.