State Sen. Shelley Mayer, who represents Rye and chairs the Senate Education Committee, introduced legislation Friday, July 31 that would ban AI-enabled humanoid robots from teaching in any New York public or charter school.
The bill, S.10671, landed days after an upstate district's plan to put a humanoid robot in a high school classroom drew statewide backlash. Rye City School District told the Rye Record it has no plans to use such technology and said robots have not been part of its classroom conversations.
Mayer said she filed the bill after reading an investigative report about the Salamanca City Central School District's nearly $60,000 purchase of a robot named "Sally," designed to look like a 16- to 24-year-old and tutor high school students.
She called Salamanca's plan a "glaring mistake of judgment."
"This is absolutely replacing a human being with a machine for instruction and other functions of education, and it shouldn't be marketed to any school in the United States," Mayer told New York Focus.
The bill would require every district, charter school, and BOCES to adopt a written policy prohibiting AI humanoid robots from delivering classroom instruction, tutoring students, assessing performance, grading work, or carrying out any other duties ordinarily performed by a certified teacher. Co-sponsors include Sen. Kristen Gonzalez, who chairs the Senate Internet and Technology Committee, and Sen. Rachel May.
What it means for Rye
Rye families won't see a robot at the front of any classroom. District officials told the Rye Record the topic had never come up locally.
The district has, however, spent the summer overhauling its broader technology policies after parents raised concerns about screen time. As we reported July 22, an internet-use audit found elementary students averaging up to 45 minutes and secondary students up to 90 minutes of daily screen time on district Chromebooks.
Director of Technology Kaitlyn Sassone and Assistant Superintendent Lauren Santabarbara presented audit findings to the board on June 16, and officials are finalizing tighter K-12 guidelines before September.
Mayer said the robots could foster inappropriate emotional attachments with students and cannot replace human interaction in the classroom.
What happens next
Salamanca put its Sally pilot on hold after State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa wrote to the district on July 24 expressing concern about "the effect that a humanoid robot may have within a high school classroom." The state Legislature will consider Mayer's bill when it reconvenes in January 2027.
NYSUT President Melinda Person praised the legislation, saying Mayer "moved quickly" to ensure "districts don't become testing grounds for humanoid robots." Realbotix CEO Andrew Kiguel pushed back, calling the statewide prohibition "a premature step" introduced "without anyone involved having seen the technology in action."
The Rye City School District Board of Education's next meeting is tentatively scheduled for Friday, August 28. Board President Jane Anderson noted at the July 16 meeting that the date may be revised; families should check the district website for confirmation.
