AI guidance for Arizona and Utah schools

For school leaders, the first question is often whether the state has established an approach to AI. In Utah, the State Board of Education publishes a framework. In Arizona, Northern Arizona University leads the guidance effort, and the Arizona Department of Education directs schools to that resource.

The distinction matters when identifying a document's authority. It also matters to distinguish guidance from the policies a district adopts and the legal requirements it must meet.

Utah

The Utah State Board of Education publishes the Artificial Intelligence Framework for Utah P–12 Education, with the currently posted edition dated March 2026. It addresses instructional and administrative uses, academic integrity, privacy, and responsibility for decisions made with AI assistance. Its scope expressly recognizes local policy. Utah AI Framework

The framework gives districts a basis for developing their own procedures. It also addresses classroom responsibilities: teachers should clarify when and how AI may be used, and they remain responsible for evaluation, feedback, and grading. Districts still need to determine approved tools, staff responsibilities, and how expectations will be communicated and enforced.

USBE also publishes companion portraits describing the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of an AI-informed educator and learner. These can help districts plan professional learning and student instruction. USBE AI resources

Training support is available through USBE's virtual AI course. Its published description includes eligibility for a $200 grant, subject to available funding, following completion of the required work and submission of an AI-integrated lesson plan. Districts should confirm current terms before presenting this as an available benefit. USBE course information

Arizona

Arizona's AI Guidance for Arizona Schools was developed by the Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy at Northern Arizona University, with contributions from educators and education specialists. The Arizona Department of Education links to it on its educational technology page and identifies NAU and the institute as its creators. Arizona Department of Education resources

Schools should identify that authorship accurately when using the document in board materials. It provides recommendations for schools and school systems; citing it does not, by itself, establish a district requirement.

NAU also offers implementation resources developed with Agua Fria Union High School District, including a playbook with practical examples and strategies. The AZ AI Alliance provides another source of support for implementation. Arizona districts therefore have resources to draw on as they develop local policy. NAU guidance and implementation resources

What districts still need to decide

In both states, district leaders need to turn broader guidance into procedures that teachers, students, and families can follow. That includes deciding:

• Which tools are approved and what information may be entered into them.
• What AI assistance is permitted for students and staff.
• When disclosure is required and what it should include.
• Who reviews concerns about misuse and how students can respond.
• Which decisions belong to individual teachers and which require a consistent district approach.

Teachers then need to apply those expectations to particular assignments. A policy may permit AI-assisted research, for example, while an assignment requires students to locate and evaluate sources independently.

State and university guidance can support those decisions. The district's work is to make them clear enough that students understand what is expected before they begin.