Education innovation is not just about creating new technologies; it is also about designing learning so that every student can thrive. For over 40 years, CAST has led this vision through its Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework, a model for creating flexible and accessible experiences across classrooms, campuses, and the workplace. Today, CAST’s work spans continents and disciplines, from advising ministries of education to convening a worldwide community exploring the intersection of UDL and AI. In this 5 Questions interview, Lindsay Jones discusses CAST’s mission, its expansion, and how innovation can drive outcomes and a sense of belonging in learners everywhere.
What is the nature of your work?
CAST is an education nonprofit founded over 40 years ago on the principle that all learners can achieve their full potential when learning experiences and environments are designed according to how human brains learn. Our mission is to lead, inspire, and convene a global community to design inclusive learning experiences through our UDL framework.
UDL is a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for every learner by setting clear, rigorous goals; anticipating barriers; and proactively designing to minimize those barriers. Ultimately, the goal of UDL is to develop learner agency that is purposeful and reflective, resourceful and authentic, strategic and action-oriented. UDL can be applied across all ages and learning environments including: early childhood, PK-12, post secondary, workforce preparation, and in corporate/adult environments.
As the developers of the UDL framework, CAST conducts rigorous research, creates innovative educational tools and resources, and partners with educators and organizations worldwide to transform learning environments. CAST works at the intersection of education research, technology development, and professional learning to ensure that curriculum, instruction, and assessment are designed from the outset to meet the needs of all learners, including those with differences.
Why is this work important?
Educational systems are often not designed for learner variability or individual differences, which effectively shuts many individuals out of opportunities for growth and advancement. CAST created the UDL framework so that all learning experiences – in school, the workplace, and life – are thoughtfully designed to elevate strengths and eliminate barriers. Few other organizations cover this kind of scope across the entire learner lifespan.
Recognizing that even the strongest frameworks require skilled implementation, CAST equips system leaders, educators, and practitioners with the knowledge and tools to bring UDL to life. Through professional learning, coaching, and technical assistance, CAST supports system leaders, educators and practitioners to design learning environments that offer meaningful options for engagement, representation, and expression – ultimately cultivating learner agency and belonging.
Ed tech products also play a critical role in shaping how people experience learning. Too often, accessibility and universal design are minimized or totally ignored in the product development process – effectively locking out lots of learners. CAST works with ed tech developers to leverage co-design practices to ensure that learning products are created in accessible, inclusive, and UDL-centered fashion. By collaborating with learners, educators, employers, and digital product developers, CAST helps ensure that emerging tools and technologies are usable by all, responsive to their needs, and reflective of the diversity and variability inherent in every learning community.
What’s been the biggest surprise so far?
One of the most exciting surprises this year has been the overwhelming global enthusiasm for exploring the intersection of UDL and artificial intelligence. When CAST launched the UDL & AI Learning Community in September 2025, we anticipated steady interest – but within two weeks, more than 2,000 professionals from across the world joined. The level of engagement and the depth of dialogue around how AI can advance, rather than hinder, inclusive design has been inspiring. Educators, researchers, and practitioners are eager to share ideas, surface ethical considerations, and co-design approaches that ensure technology serves all learners.
Equally inspiring has been the growing global reach of UDL implementation. CAST’s first-ever contract in Africa, through an International School Abroad in Angola, and a countrywide UDL initiative with Paraguay’s Ministry of Education and Sciences reflect the universal resonance of this work. In Paraguay, over 500 ministry coaches and educators are being trained to build inclusive classrooms that honor linguistic and cultural diversity while ensuring every learner can thrive.
These developments reaffirm that UDL is not only a U.S. framework – it is a global movement toward more equitable, human-centered learning powered by collaboration and innovation.
Where do you see your work in five years?
As a primary voice in the field, CAST will lead dialogue around how emerging edtech products – especially those leveraging artificial intelligence – can advance human-centered learning design. Through the development of frameworks, guidance, and prototypes, CAST will ensure that ed tech products and AI learning technologies are harnessed in inclusive, accessible, and flexible ways that enhance learning opportunities for every learner, regardless of ability or background.
Global partnerships will continue to be a defining feature of CAST’s work. Building on current initiatives, CAST will expand collaborations focused on country-wide implementation efforts and deepen engagement with international schools abroad. These partnerships will serve as living examples of how UDL can be adapted across diverse regions, systems, and languages to create more inclusive and effective learning ecosystems. Simultaneously, CAST will broaden its reach with multilingual learner communities, embedding UDL principles into culturally and linguistically responsive practices.
As a convener and thought leader, CAST will continue to host international convenings, publish applied research, and amplify the voices of educators, learners, and families worldwide.
What else should people know?
CAST offers a robust monthly newsletter to a worldwide audience. We also offer The CAST Resource Hub which is a rich collection of materials designed to help educators, leaders, and organizations bring UDL into action. Here you’ll find whitepapers and articles that explore inclusive design, accessibility, and the research behind UDL; courses and credentials that provide self-paced, interactive professional learning focused on real-world implementation across PreK–12, higher education, and workforce settings; digital tools developed by CAST’s research teams to support flexible, inclusive learning environments; and implementation criteria and practical tools, such as the “UDL Schoolwide Implementation Criteria,” that turn UDL principles into actionable schoolwide strategies. Finally – learn with us and let’s shape the future together – Please consider joining our AI and UDL Community!
