Utah completes the 2025 UEN School Technology Inventory with 100% participation, adds AI focus
Salt Lake City, Utah (January 20, 2026) - The Utah Education Network (UEN), in partnership with the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Connected Nation (CN), has completed the 2025 Utah School Technology Inventory. This inventory is the sixth statewide and the sixth in a row to achieve 100 percent participation among Utah’s public and charter schools.
For the first time, the biennial survey included a dedicated section on artificial intelligence (AI) to better understand how emerging technologies are shaping teaching and learning in classrooms across the state. Results will be released in February 2026, with statewide, district, charter, and school-level data and analyses.
The Utah School Technology Inventory tracks how technology is accessed and used in Utah schools, including devices, connectivity, instructional platforms, and digital learning environments. Because the survey is conducted every two years, it also provides a long-term look at trends, helping leaders understand how Utah classrooms are evolving.
“Utah is one of the most connected school systems in terms of tech in the entire country,” said Matthew Winters, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Education Specialist at the Utah State Board of Education (USBE). “Being able to go out and get ahead of questions like, ‘What do we need? How do we build it?’ and then really listening to our community is very important.”
Connecting experience with innovation
Winters’ experience with school technology spans both UEN and USBE. He previously served as a product manager and statewide trainer for UEN and now works closely with key stakeholders:
- The Utah Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy
- Higher-education AI research partners
- Local educational leaders statewide
So, how do Winters and his colleagues know which schools are using AI and which are not? That's where the Utah School Technology Inventory comes in.
The 2025 inventory marks a milestone year, as UEN and USBE added the first statewide questions on AI. The new section explores:
- How teachers and students currently use AI tools
- District AI governance, policy, and responsible-use guidance
- Professional development needs
- Accessibility and equity considerations
- Perceived opportunities and concerns
Data from these questions may support policy development, procurement, AI education, and teacher training across Utah districts.
Winters emphasized that the addition of AI questions is intentional and forward-looking. “To formulate the questions, we asked how we not only future-proof the survey in terms of AI but also provide a look ahead at what schools should be thinking about over the next few years,” he said.
Cautious optimism
Utah is one of the leading states using AI in education. While optimistic about its impact overall, many education leaders are taking a measured and cautious approach. Winters acknowledges their reluctance and says it's understandable because many people are just learning how to use AI and see its full potential.
“I think we have done a really good job about spreading the word on how this technology can be modified and used by teachers to meet the needs of students across the board,” said Winters. “There are a lot of different ways that we can approach technology.”
Many other states are struggling to get started with AI. In Utah, however, UEN, the University of Utah’s One-U Responsible Artificial Intelligence Initiative (One-U RAI), and other higher ed institutions have all been supportive of Winters’ efforts to expand AI adoption across the state.
Benefits of AI in schools
Winters encourages educators to become familiar with AI tools through guided experimentation.
“What we need is playtime with teachers,” said Winters. “We need them to get into the technology and sort through it. This is true with a lot of technology but specifically with AI because AI is a creative machine. What we've seen is that teachers who take the time to really think through AI and have time to play, their productivity speeds up.”
Local educational agencies like USBE and UEN have long sought to help teachers do things they haven’t done before, and AI supports that. It can also significantly improve accessibility in the classroom.
“We had a teacher from central Utah that took two days to train in AI with me to learn how to make things accessible for her students with severe disabilities and some who are nonverbal,” said Winters. “We made a chatbot with AI for each student to match their disability to help them with what they are struggling with. Those students can now use that chatbot and communicate with their teachers for the first time.”
The Utah schools that have adopted AI use platforms such as Google Gemini, SchoolAI, Magic School, and Skill Struck.
Making AI affordable and scalable
In 2024, Utah implemented a statewide consortium purchasing model for AI tools following an RFP process facilitated by UEN. This approach allows schools to access AI platforms at a fraction of the cost they would pay as individual schools.
“That has helped so many schools because it makes the prices much cheaper,” said Winters. “So financially, we’re actually in a better place than most states around this.”
How the inventory informs the future
The 2025 UEN School Technology Inventory will help state and district leaders:
- Plan professional learning initiatives
- Guide responsible-use policy development
- Identify gaps in access or usage
- Track emerging trends through 2027 and beyond
“I think it’s that two-way street,” Winters said. “We start to see the growth data, and districts begin to recognize what they need to consider for policy or governance. That thinking process is an important part of the survey itself.”
“I am really excited about getting this out and sharing the message,” he added. “I think it’s a really cool and unique survey, and we're excited to see where we're going to be in two years with school technology.”
Past UEN K-12 Technology Inventory content:
About the Author
Lily McCoy is the Connected Nation Senior Communications Specialist. Lily provides support to the Communications Department through social media outreach and writing. She also adds a source of creativity to the team with a background in personal relations and marketing. Lily has a bachelors in corporate and organizational communications from Western Kentucky University.
