How Utah students use AI in school depends on where they go

SALT LAKE CITY — Artificial intelligence is moving into Utah classrooms, but what that means for students can vary depending on where they go to school.

Utah education officials announced this summer that Google Gemini would be made available to public schools for the 2026-27 school year, while leaving local districts to decide how the technology would be implemented.

Now, several weeks into the school year, those approaches are beginning to look different.

Canyons School District has enabled Gemini through educational Google accounts for teachers and staff, as well as high school students. Younger students do not have access, according to Emma Moss, the district's digital teaching and learning specialist and AI systems lead.

"We made that decision to set some safeguards in place," Moss said. "Just as adults are navigating this new world with AI, so are our students."

Provo City School District, meanwhile, has told parents that Gemini and other AI chatbots are not available on student Chromebooks while the district continues working through its AI policy.

What AI use actually looks like in a classroom

Moss said Canyons is trying to move the conversation beyond the idea of students simply asking artificial intelligence to write an essay or complete an assignment.

In one science classroom, she said students analyze a lab and then use an AI model to provide feedback on their analysis. Students bring that feedback back into their work and explain why they chose to accept or reject what the AI suggested.

The exercise is intentional, Moss said, because AI-generated information is not always correct.

The district has also seen teachers use AI in ways parents may not immediately think about.

Moss described one teacher who used AI to provide a student with an overview of English-language course material in the student's home language, which was not commonly spoken. The student was then able to better understand the topic and participate in a discussion with classmates.

"I see them using this tool to save them time in some ways, or come up with ideas so that they can make those connections in person more valuable," Moss said.

Teachers are also using AI to brainstorm ways to make lessons more relevant, develop classroom activities, and find ways to support multilingual students or students who need accommodations without entering identifying student information into the systems.

Red, yellow or green

Giving high school students access to Gemini does not mean they have free rein to use it on assignments.

Canyons has developed what Moss described as a "stoplight protocol."

Red means students cannot use AI for an assignment. Yellow means it can be used, but only in a specific way outlined by the teacher. Green means the teacher has approved its use.

Having an AI model simply complete homework or write an essay for a student would not be acceptable, Moss said.

"Just because they have access to an AI doesn't mean that they're using it to do the thinking for them," she said.

Instead, students could be permitted to use AI to brainstorm, receive feedback on a specific portion of their work, or get help understanding something they are struggling with.

The goal, Moss said, is to prepare students to use a technology they are likely to encounter after graduation without allowing it to replace the skills schools are trying to teach.

Canyons said preparation started years ago

While generative AI is still relatively new, Moss said Canyons did not begin preparing for its use when Gemini became available to Utah schools this year.

The district began developing its approach in 2023 and released an AI guidebook that fall.

"We started several years ago," Moss said. "In fall of '23, we had a guidebook that we released that talked about our framework for how we approached AI."

Since then, the district has trained educators on how artificial intelligence works, what to look for when using it safely and how it could be incorporated into a classroom.

That groundwork, Moss said, made it easier to evaluate new tools like Gemini against principles the district already had in place.

Canyons' approach illustrates the local decisions being made as Utah schools navigate a technology that is developing faster than traditional education policy.

Those decisions can result in significantly different experiences for students. A high school student in Canyons can access Gemini through a district-managed account, while students in districts taking a more cautious approach may not have access to generative AI chatbots on their school devices.

The Utah State Board of Education is also continuing to develop statewide guidance surrounding artificial intelligence in schools.

Related topics