Disability Scoop

The number of teachers using AI to develop individualized education programs, or IEPs, for students with disabilities is surging, but so too are questions about what role the technology should play. Among licensed special education teachers, 57% said they used AI to help with IEPs or 504 plans during the 2024-2025 school year, according to a new report from the nonprofit Center for Democracy & Technology. That’s up 18% from just one year prior. Special educators reported using AI to identify trends in student progress, summarize the content of IEPs or 504 plans, choose specific accommodations, write the narrative portion of the plans, or, in some cases, to write plans in full, the report found. 

The brief warns that educators risk running afoul of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which requires that IEPs be unique and individualized documents, as well as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, and state-level privacy laws, particularly if they use freely available AI tools like ChatGPT. In addition, the Center for Democracy & Technology report raises concerns about accuracy, bias, and other issues with information generated through AI.

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