My "AI in 30" show returns for its third season in the 2026-27 school year!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW YORK, September 2, 2026 — As parents, lawmakers, and advocacy groups increasingly call for restrictions on screen time in schools, nationally recognized AI and education expert Jerry Crisci is available for interviews and commentary on the risks of adopting broad limits that fail to distinguish among different uses of technology.
Crisci agrees that schools should carefully examine how technology affects students’ attention, health, relationships, and learning. However, he argues that the current debate too often treats every minute spent with a digital device as educationally equivalent.
Crisci cautions that sweeping mandates could prevent educators from making thoughtful decisions based on students’ ages, instructional goals, subject areas, and individual needs. He advocates a more nuanced approach centered on purpose, developmental appropriateness, instructional value, and local educational judgment.
“Parents are raising legitimate concerns, and schools need to take those concerns seriously,” Crisci said. “But the answer should not be an imagined choice between technology and human learning. The real questions should be addressed the way the leaders at the University of Chicago recently framed them: When should we teach with technology, when should we teach without technology, and what should we teach about technology?”
Available Topics
Crisci is available to discuss:
Why “screen time” is an inadequate measure of educational quality
How schools can balance technology-rich and technology-free learning
Why statewide mandates may interfere with sound local decision-making
The relationship between the screen-time backlash and parent-led cellphone restrictions
How artificial intelligence is changing the debate about technology in schools
How schools can prepare students for an AI-embedded society and workforce
Uniquely Qualified to Address the Debate
Crisci brings 35 years of educational technology experience to the national discussion. His career began in a graduate computer education program at the dawn of the modern educational technology movement and has encompassed classroom innovation, district leadership, emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, public policy, and the future of education and work.
During his career with the Scarsdale Public Schools in New York, Crisci served as Director of Instructional Technology and Innovation and was the founding co-director of the district’s Center for Innovation. He was also involved in the early testing and deployment of Chromebooks in schools, giving him firsthand experience with the emergence of one-to-one computing and the opportunities and challenges that followed.
Today, Crisci is a sought-after AI and education keynote speaker for public and independent schools. Over the course of his career, he has presented on educational technology, innovation, and artificial intelligence at national and international conferences and at leading institutions, including MIT, Rutgers University, Iona University, Long Island University, and the State University of New York at New Paltz. He has also delivered presentations at leading technology companies, including Apple, Google, and IBM. His popular “AI in 30” bimonthly video series is entering its third year and is viewed by educational leaders across New York State. Crisci also facilitates the Tri-State (NY, NJ, CT) Consortium’s AI Study group, which gathers educators from leading school districts to wrestle with questions regarding AI, education, and the future of schools.
Crisci’s professional honors include recognition from the National School Boards Association. He has also been recognized for his work in technology by being selected as a Google Certified Innovator, and in 2012, he was chosen by the New Media Consortium to serve as a K-12 Ambassador, a global network of 22 leading educational visionaries. Crisci was also presented with an Apple “Think Different” award for his pioneering use of multimedia in schools, as well as a TELL award for his innovative use of technology.
Crisci has delivered keynote addresses that were attended by both the New York State Commissioner of Education and the New York State Commissioner of Labor. He has also presented at the New York State Conference of Mayors and the annual conference of the New York State Government Finance Officers’ Association.
His writing has appeared in dozens of publications, including EducateAI and Municipal Matters. He is also a collaborator with Oxford University’s AIEOU research group, contributing to research and discussion about the future of schools and work.
Crisci’s current work helps schools, colleges, government organizations, and educational leaders respond to technological change without embracing either uncritical adoption or reactionary rejection. He has developed several models for institutional AI planning, including the FAIR Framework: Futuring, AI Literacy, Innovation, and Redesign, and the Hive Framework for developing an AI strategy.
Crisci has a B.A. from Rutgers College, Rutgers University, a dual M.S. in Elementary Education and Computer Education from the University of Pennsylvania, and a C.A.S. in Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University. His articles, presentations, frameworks, and white papers are available at www.jerrycrisci.com.
Jerry Crisci lives in Rockland County, New York, and is available for live, recorded, remote, and in-studio interviews; television and radio appearances; podcasts; panel discussions; and background conversations with reporters covering education, technology, artificial intelligence, parenting, public policy, and the future of schools.
Media Contact:
Jerry Crisci
Chestnut Hill Media
Email: jerry.crisci@gmail.com
Website: www.jerrycrisci.com