Digital Learning Resources:

• The Utah Education Network provides free digital tools, instructional materials, and professional development to Pre-K Education, Higher Education, and Career Education in the state. The Utah Education and Telehealth Network commissioned Connected Nation to do an independent analysis for the state legislature every two years. The 2022 report found growth in the number of 1:1 devices per student. 

• Curious about your district’s internet access? ConnectK-12 provides state- and district-specific information on access to the recommended bandwidth speeds and monthly internet costs.

Career & Technical and/or Work-based Education:

• Utah has significant Career and Technical education (CTE) activity, despite no legislation promoting it. Superintendents are authorized to approve and seek funding for CTE programs under the regulation. During the 2021-22 school year, 177,959 Students Enrolled in CTE Courses. 

Personalized, Competency- and/or Mastery-based Learning:

• Utah has expanded Competency-Based education through policy measures, grant programs, and frameworks. In 2016, Utah legislation introduced a competency-based education pilot program, incentivizing local education agencies to transform learning models with grants. The following year, additional funds were allocated for Utah educators to join nationwide study tours on competency-based education. In 2018, a Competency-Based Education Framework was introduced for implementation guidance, and the exemplary Utah Talent MAP and Portrait of a Graduate was launched in 2019. Utah has actively promoted Transformation models that advance students based on content mastery, not seat time.

• Utah’s Board of Education’s strategic plan includes personalized teaching and learning. The state has also collaborated with the Learner-Centered Collaborative, providing a yearlong professional learning program for 140 state-level coordinators and specialists. This initiative aimed to model personalized, competency-based learning (PCBL) strategies, foster diverse implementation approaches, and showcase authentic classroom examples. Learner-Centered Collaborative also led on-site Learning Walks, and at the program's end, each Utah State Board of Education department committed to integrating PCBL strategies into their professional learning initiatives.

• In 2022, the Regulatory Sandbox in Education Act (SB 191) was enacted to empower schools to launch innovative education programs, allowing them to seek temporary waivers of state board rules from the State Board of Education for support. Proposed plans, approved by local agencies, are then reported to the State Board of Education. There are no approved innovation programs yet.