NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Purchase does not increase chances of winning. By submitting an essay, entrants (and, where applicable, their parent or legal guardian) agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sutherland Institute, which are final and binding in all matters relating to this contest.
1. Sponsor
This contest and the accompanying Utah Student AI Policy Congress (together, the “Program”) are sponsored by Sutherland Institute (“Sponsor”).
2. Eligibility
The essay contest is open only to students who, at the time of submission, are enrolled in grades 10, 11, or 12 (“Eligible Students”) at a public, private, or home school program located in the State of Utah. Students in grades 9 and below, and students not enrolled in a Utah educational program, are not eligible to enter.
- Entrants must be legal residents of Utah.
- Employees, contractors, and immediate family members (spouse, parent, child, sibling) or household members of the Sponsor, co-sponsors, or judges are not eligible to enter.
- Entrants under 18 years of age must have the consent of a parent or legal guardian to enter and, if selected as a winner, to participate in the Utah Student AI Policy Congress.
- One (1) entry per student. Multiple entries by the same student will result in disqualification of all entries by that student.
- Essays must be the original work of the individual student entrant. Co-authored or group essays will not be accepted.
3. Contest Period
Essays must be received by Sponsor no later than October 1, 2026 at 11:59p.m. (the “Submission Deadline”). Entries received after the Submission Deadline, for any reason, will not be considered.
4. How to Enter
Essays must be submitted by one of the following methods:
- Online Upload (preferred): Essays may be uploaded directly through the online submission portal here.
- Mail: Essays may be mailed to: Sutherland Institute, Attn: Student Essay Contest, 420 E. South Temple, Suite 510, Salt Lake City, UT 84111. Mailed entries must be postmarked no later than the Submission Deadline and must include a return name, mailing address, and email address.
Each submission must include the student’s full name, grade level, school name, home address, email address, phone number, and the name of a parent/guardian or teacher who can verify enrollment. Incomplete entries may be disqualified at Sponsor’s sole discretion.
5. Essay Requirements
- Essays must be 1,000–1,500 words in length (excluding footnotes and works cited).
- Essays must propose a specific, actionable AI policy recommendation for Utah junior high and/or high schools, addressing at least one of the six Policy Framework areas described in Section 6 below.
- Essays must identify who should be responsible for deciding and implementing the proposed policy – i.e., whether the recommendation belongs at the state, district/LEA, school, or classroom/teacher level – consistent with the Framework’s cross-cutting governance question.
- Essays must be submitted in English, typed, and in a readable font (12-point, double-spaced recommended).
- Essays must not have been previously published or awarded a prize in another contest.
- Essays must not contain defamatory, obscene, threatening, or otherwise unlawful or objectionable content, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.
6. Essay Topic Framework
Entrants must address their policy recommendation within one or more of the following six areas. Entrants are encouraged, but not required, to consult the questions listed under each area when developing their proposal.
A. Instructional Use and Teacher Discretion
Core question: When and how should teachers be allowed to use AI in their classrooms? Think about: how much freedom a teacher should have to allow, limit, or require AI use; whether the rules should be the same for every teacher or class, or different depending on the subject or grade; what teachers should be allowed to use AI for (like planning lessons, grading, or giving feedback); when students should have to complete work without any AI help; and whether a teacher should double-check AI-created lesson materials before using them.
B. Student Use, Academic Integrity, and AI Literacy
Core question: What should students be allowed to do – and not do – with AI on schoolwork? Think about: where the line is between getting help from AI and cheating; who decides how much AI help is okay on a given assignment; whether students should have to say when they used AI; how a teacher can tell the difference between a student using AI to improve their own work versus letting AI do the work for them; what students in grades 7–12 should understand about how AI works, including that it can be wrong, biased, or make things up; and how tests and assignments might need to change because AI exists.
C. Privacy, Safety, and Student Protection
Core question: How should schools keep students safe and protect their personal information when AI is involved? Think about: what personal information about students or staff should never be typed into an AI tool; what privacy and security rules AI companies should have to follow; age limits and parent permission; how current rules against bullying, harassment, and impersonation should apply when AI is used to create hurtful content; and whether new rules are needed for AI-faked photos, videos, or voices (sometimes called “deepfakes”).
D. AI in Decisions About Students
Core question: Should AI ever be allowed to help make decisions about individual students? Think about: whether AI should be used to help grade student work; whether AI should play a role in decisions about discipline, extra help, class placement, or graduation; which of those decisions should always involve a human being, not just AI; whether students and parents should be told when AI played a role in a decision about them; how a student could challenge or appeal a decision that involved AI; and who should be held responsible if an AI-assisted decision turns out to be wrong.
E. Equity, Access, and Preparation for Life After School
Core question: How can schools make sure AI helps every student fairly, while still preparing them for a future where AI is everywhere? Think about: whether all students should have equal access to AI tools through their school, regardless of what they can afford at home; the difference between free and paid AI tools; how AI policies might affect students with disabilities or students still learning English; what students should know about AI by the time they graduate; and whether limiting AI use could actually put some students at a disadvantage.
F. Tools, Procurement, and Governance
Core question: Who should decide which AI tools schools are allowed to use, and how should that decision get made? Think about: who picks which AI programs teachers and students can use; what a school should check before approving a new AI tool (such as how it protects student data); whether the rules should be different depending on whether the school assigned the tool, a teacher picked it, or a student found it on their own; who keeps an eye on an AI tool after it’s approved, in case it changes; and which of these decisions should be made by the state, the school district, an individual school, or a classroom teacher.
Cross-Cutting Governance Question: Who Decides?
Every topic area above connects to one big question: how much freedom should an individual teacher have to decide how AI is used in their own classroom, and which decisions should instead be made by the school, the district, or the state? Every essay must address this question of who should be in charge of the policy it proposes.
7. Judging
Essays will be judged in two rounds:
- Round 1 (Senate District Judging): Essays will be evaluated by readers assigned to each Senate district and scored on clarity of policy proposal, reasoning and feasibility, understanding of tradeoffs, and writing quality and originality. One winning essay will be selected from each of Utah’s 29 Senate districts (“District,” referring to a Utah State Senate district).
- Round 2 (Statewide Judging): The 29 Senate District-winning essays will be evaluated by a statewide panel of educators, policy professionals, and/or legislators to select the first-, second-, and third-place cash prize winners.
All judging decisions are final and not subject to appeal. In the event of a tie, judges will select the winner based on the strength of the proposed policy recommendation.
8. Prizes
Cash Prizes:
- First Place: $1,000
- Second Place: $500
- Third Place: $250
District Delegate Prize: The winning essayist from each of Utah’s 29 Senate districts will be invited to serve as that district’s student delegate to the Utah Student AI Policy Congress, to be held November 20–21, 2026, at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City. A cash-prize winner may also be selected as their district’s delegate if their essay is the top essay in their district.
Approximate Retail Value (ARV) of the delegate prize (dinner and Saturday meals) is estimated at $75–$150 per delegate, depending on final event costs. Cash prizes are as stated above. Total ARV of all prizes will be published in final contest materials.
Prizes are non-transferable. No cash equivalent or substitution will be offered, except at Sponsor’s sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value if a stated prize becomes unavailable.
9. Utah Student AI Policy Congress – Additional Terms
- Travel and lodging to and from the Congress are the sole responsibility of the student delegate and their family. Sponsor does not provide or reimburse travel or lodging expenses, though schools, parents, and third-party donors may assist.
- Meals for participating delegates will be provided at the Utah State Capitol on Saturday, November 21, 2026.
- Each delegate may bring one (1) guest to the Friday, November 20 opening dinner at no charge. Additional dinner tickets may be purchased for $30 per person, subject to availability.
- Delegates will be assigned to a rural or urban caucus for purposes of the Saturday lunch session, based on their home Senate district, as determined by Sponsor.
- Delegates are expected to participate in the full Saturday program, including floor debate and the caucus session, and to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with standards of decorum appropriate to the Utah State Capitol.
- Sponsor reserves the right to remove any delegate from the Congress for conduct that is disruptive, unsafe, or inconsistent with these Official Rules, without obligation to provide a replacement prize.
10. Notification of Winners
Winners will be notified by email and/or phone using the contact information provided at the time of entry. Winners (or their parent/guardian, if a minor) may be required to sign and return an affidavit of eligibility, liability release, and (where lawful) a publicity release within a specified time period. Failure to respond or comply may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner.
11. Use of Submissions and Publicity
By submitting an essay, entrants grant Sponsor a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to reproduce, publish, distribute, and display the essay, in whole or in part, for purposes related to the Program, including on Sponsor’s website, social media, and promotional materials, with attribution to the student author. Winners further grant Sponsor permission to use their name, likeness, city/school, and statements about their experience for promotional purposes without additional compensation, except where prohibited by law.
12. Parental/Guardian Consent
Because all Eligible Students are expected to be minors, entry constitutes a representation that the entrant has obtained permission from a parent or legal guardian to (a) submit the essay, (b) be considered for and accept a prize, and (c) if selected as a district delegate, travel to and participate in the Utah Student AI Policy Congress. Sponsor may require written confirmation of parental/guardian consent prior to awarding any prize.
13. Taxes
Cash prize winners (or their parent/guardian) are solely responsible for any and all applicable federal, state, and local taxes associated with the prize. Sponsor may issue tax reporting forms as required by law.
14. General Conditions
- Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any entrant who tampers with the entry process, submits an essay that is not their original work, or otherwise violates these Official Rules.
- Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend, modify, or postpone the Program or any portion of it (including the essay contest or the Congress) due to circumstances beyond its reasonable control.
- Sponsor is not responsible for late, lost, incomplete, illegible, misdirected, or postage-due entries or mail.
- These Official Rules are governed by the laws of the State of Utah, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.
15. Limitation of Liability
By entering, participants agree to release and hold harmless the Sponsor, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and co-sponsors from any and all liability, injury, loss, or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with participation in the Program or the acceptance, use, or misuse of any prize, including travel to and from the Utah Student AI Policy Congress, to the fullest extent permitted by law.
16. Questions
Questions regarding these Official Rules or the Program may be directed to Todd Weiler, Sutherland Institute president and CEO, at todd@sifreedom.org.
Sutherland Institute – Official Rules effective September 1, 2026. Subject to change; the most current version of these Official Rules will be posted on this webpage.
