Digital Citizenship Week

Support safe, responsible, and healthy use of social media.

Children use technology to learn, create, communicate, and connect. Digital Citizenship Week is a good time for students, staff, and families to talk about online safety, privacy, social media, media literacy, screen time, digital well-being, and artificial intelligence (AI).

Find activities and resources on the Common Sense Education Digital Citizenship Week page.

Resources for Students & Families

Students from the 2026 Summer Design Institute at Motion Picture Technical High School created social media safety public service announcements to help young people make informed choices online. The series covers social media safety, misinformation, digital well-being, healthy technology habits, and responsible online behavior.

Things to Do Together

Use these Common Sense Media resources at home:

• Create a family technology plan
• Develop a family media agreement
• Learn about artificial intelligence and your child

Policies to Know

Important NYCPS Policies for Parents:

• Review the NYCPS Digital Citizenship Responsibilities
• Social Media Guidelines for Students
• Parent Guide to Student Social Media Guidelines
• Internet Acceptable Use Policy

Build Healthy Technology Habits

• Create device-free times and spaces.
• Keep communication open about online experiences.
• Talk about privacy and personal information.
• Balance screen time with sleep, learning, family time, and offline activities.
• Model respectful and responsible online behavior.
• Report concerns: Talk to your child about what to do if they encounter cyberbullying, scams, or inappropriate content, and how to report it.

For help with passwords, scams, and protecting personal information, explore the NYCPS Cybersecurity Awareness resources.

Understand AI Together

AI is built into many tools children use. Talk about what AI can do, where it may make mistakes, and why people should check AI-generated information.

Read:

• NYC Public Schools Guidance on Artificial Intelligence and Screen Time
• Common Sense Media Parent Guide to Artificial Intelligence

Resources for Educators & School Staff

Visit the staff Digital Citizenship page on the InfoHub where you will find:

• Requirements for schools: including annual digital citizenship instruction, certification requirements, and guidance for meeting CIPA requirements.
• Local Law 83 implementation resources: including student videos, lesson plans, and family engagement materials designed to address social media risks, misinformation and disinformation, and strategies to prevent online harm.
• Approved digital citizenship curricula: including Common Sense Media, Be Internet Awesome, Digital4Good x #ICANHELP, Edpuzzle, EverFi, and Library Services inquiry-based resources.
• Professional learning opportunities: including on-demand WeLearn courses, live classes, partner certifications, and CTLE-bearing learning experiences.
• Teacher guidance and responsibilities: for supporting students, communicating with families, protecting student privacy, and teaching responsible digital behavior.
• Policies and guidance documents: including Social Media Guidelines for Staff, Social Media Guidelines for Students, Digital Citizenship Responsibilities, the Internet Acceptable Use Policy, Guidance on Artificial Intelligence and Screen Time, and Cybersecurity Awareness resources.
• Library Services resources: including digital citizenship inquiry extensions aligned to the Empire State Information Fluency Continuum.

Staff are encouraged to use Digital Citizenship Week to build awareness, introduce grade-appropriate lessons, engage families, and reinforce safe, responsible, and informed technology use throughout the school year.

Join the Conversation

Share how your school or family is participating this week on social media using the hashtag #DigCitWeek!