AI And Writing IEPs: A Few Points for Consideration

By Rose Kilmurray, Dawn Merth-Johnson, Tim Peerenboom, and Michelle Silverman, Wisconsin DPI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a practical tool in special education, with the potential to support both students and school personnel. When used thoughtfully, AI can enhance efficiency by streamlining time-consuming tasks, organizing and generating instructional materials, and reducing parts of the workload that often pull educators away from direct student support. This allows educators to maximize the use of their skills, expertise, and knowledge for improving student outcomes. It is important to note that AI is a tool meant to support educators, not replace them; it is a partner requiring careful monitoring, evaluation, and continuous improvement. Additionally, maintaining a human-centered approach is crucial when using AI. While AI can serve as an initial drafting aid for administrative tasks like writing IEP’s, the decision for school personnel to utilize these tools rests with each local education agency (LEA). 

Many special educators and other school personnel are already using AI. Therefore, school administrators should create and implement clear policies and procedures for its use in districts, including IEP writing. DPI recently published AI Guidance for Enhancing K-12 and Library Education which may be utilized when developing AI guidance at the local level. Input from other affected parties is important to the process of creating equitable, effective policies and procedures. Policies and procedures should include convening with a diverse school team to help develop guidelines and monitor use for improvement. Consulting with or including district information technology and legal teams when developing policies and procedures is another crucial step to ensure compliance, security, and effective implementation. The legal and information technology teams will help the district with the decision to use free or paid AI programs developed for K–12 schools, especially those that address data security and IEP customization.

While AI is an ever-changing landscape, there are some best practices for use that will ensure ethical and careful application of this tool for IEP writing. Best practices include a human-centered approach with a focus on transparency, privacy, and safety. AI is a tool used by educators who must maintain full responsibility, decision-making authority, and authorship at all times and especially when implementing it for drafting a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). All IEP content must be thoroughly reviewed and edited by educators. Content should align with team consensus and IEP team input. During the review process, it is also important to ensure that all content aligns with IDEA, Section 504, state, and local requirements.

To implement AI district-wide with a focus on best practice, professional development for each and every educator is essential.  Professional development should focus on the use of AI by teachers as well as how teachers can use AI safely with students. Professional development should include, but is not limited, to the following: 

• Ethics: Ensure that AI-generated content aligns with professional standards.

• Bias Mitigation: Be aware that AI algorithms and models can inadvertently reflect biases and disparities.  Educators must proactively mitigate AI-generated information by monitoring biases.

• Safety: Ensure all AI-generated information and resources are screened, interpreted, and analyzed for accuracy, currency, and safety.

• Data Privacy: Ensure student data collected through AI applications is protected through secure storage practices and robust encryption. Personal Identifiable Information (PII) of students should never be entered into unsecure or public AI programs or applications.

• Transparency: Be transparent with families about the use of AI and its limitations. Best practice dictates transparency in use of AI in drafting IEPs.  

• Legal Compliance and IEP Team Decision-Making: School administrators should understand that while AI may be a helpful tool in supporting IEP development, it does not replace professional judgment, team decision-making, or legal requirements under IDEA. 

AI may assist with organizing information, generating draft language, aligning goals to present levels, or reducing clerical workload, but educators and administrators are ultimately responsible for ensuring that every IEP is individualized, data-driven, based on the student’s unique disability-related needs, and follows all state and federal laws for IEP development. All AI-generated content must be carefully reviewed for accuracy, bias, and appropriateness, and it must reflect input from the full IEP team, including the parent. Administrators also need to ensure compliance with student data privacy laws, establish clear school district guidance, policies and procedures on appropriate AI use, and provide school personnel training that emphasizes AI as a support tool rather than using AI a decision-maker. Used thoughtfully, AI may increase efficiency and consistency, allowing educators to spend more time on meaningful collaboration, and individualized instruction for direct student support.