Utah’s draft model policy for instructional technology and artificial intelligence remains under review. The state board voted to send it back to the Standards and Assessment Committee for further edits, including clarification of how sixth grade should be classified and what reporting is required, according to Citizen Portal. The committee was scheduled to meet again Oct. 8, KSL reported.
The policy effort stems in part from HB 273, which Gov. Spencer Cox signed this year. The law requires the state board to develop model policies for technology and AI in public school classrooms and to include AI standards on appropriate use, privacy, security and ethical interaction in core computer science standards, according to KSL. Utah also entered a 2026 partnership with Google Gemini, leaving individual districts to decide whether to adopt the platform, KUER reported.
What protections apply to student data?
Utah’s existing guidance addresses data collection as well as the policy debate. The Utah State Board of Education’s March 2026 AI framework says families and students should be informed about specific AI data-collection initiatives, with consent sought where applicable, according to USBE.
State law also requires education entities and third-party contractors that collect, use, store, share or delete student data to protect it under the chapter’s provisions, under Utah Code §53E-9-302.
Federal guidance on AI oversight
A U.S. Department of Education guide says the department’s 2023 AI report recommended keeping humans involved in oversight, while cautioning that asking educators to review every AI use or output is neither practical nor fair. This is federal guidance, not a rule governing Utah’s board decision, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
A proposed student advisory group
The proposed Artificial Intelligence Student Task Force would advise the state board on AI discussions and possible policies, support student-led activities, include representatives from each board district and report to the board, according to Citizen Portal. Organizers have said they want participation from across Utah, not mainly from the Salt Lake Valley, KSL reported.
Skyline High senior Rahul Nair presented the task-force proposal to the Standards and Assessments Committee in September. The committee gave it preliminary approval, and the full board was expected to consider it in October, KSL reported. KSL said Nair developed the proposal with educators, students and Utah State Board of Education AI specialist Matt Winters.
The task force’s approval timeline remains unclear. The original article’s account of a Utah State Board of Education meetings page gives May 4, 2023, as the creation approval date, while KSL reported that the board gave final approval on Oct. 1, 2026. Those dates do not align, and the discrepancy has not been independently reconciled.
Student views and educator readiness
KSL reported differing student views on classroom AI: Nair favored clear, assignment-specific limits, while Hillcrest High senior Kennedy Mickelson expressed greater caution, especially for younger students. These were perspectives reported by KSL, not interviews conducted for this article.
Educator preparation is another part of the policy context. Utah provided classroom AI training to more than 6,000 teachers over the summer, KUER reported. In a survey covered by Deseret News, 45% of K-12 educators said they had received no formal AI training, and 8% characterized their training as comprehensive. The Instructure survey also found that 90% of higher education students said they use AI and 73% of K-12 parents and guardians said their child does. Respondents across the groups ranked teaching AI ethics and responsible use, along with building AI literacy, among schools' leading priorities.
National findings point to both wider use and continuing concern. A RAND survey of 1,214 U.S. youth ages 12 to 29 found that the share of students in middle school and above using AI for homework rose from 48% in May 2025 to 62% in December 2025. In the December survey, 60% of students who used AI for schoolwork expressed concern about doing so, and 67% agreed that greater student use of AI for schoolwork would harm critical-thinking skills.
