🤖 Is AI Writing Your Child’s IEP? Why Parents Should Pay Attention 

By:  Frances Shefter, Esq. (and mom) 

 

As a mom of two neurodiverse children and an education attorney, I have sat at the IEP table from both sides. I know what it feels like to walk into a meeting hoping the team truly understands your child. I also know what it feels like to review an IEP and immediately realize nobody slowed down enough to make sure it describes your child.   

And honestly, that is what worries me about schools starting to use AI to help write IEPs. 

Technology itself is not the problem. Teachers are overwhelmed. Case managers are juggling impossible caseloads. Schools are under pressure to move quickly. I understand why districts are looking for tools that save time. 

But an IEP is not supposed to be about speed. 

It is supposed to be about the child. 

Lately, I have seen more and more IEPs that feel generic, rushed, and disconnected from the actual student sitting in front of the team. In some cases, I have even seen the wrong child’s name left in the IEP, which clearly shows language was copied from another document and never carefully reviewed. 

Think about that for a second. 

This is one of the most important educational documents your child will ever have. It determines supports, accommodations, services, goals, and how your child accesses school every single day. Yet some IEPs are starting to feel more like templates than individualized plans. 

That should concern parents. 

A good IEP should flow naturally from beginning to end. Every section should connect to the next. 

The present levels section should tell the story of your child as a learner. This is where the team explains your child’s strengths, weaknesses, learning style, challenges, and how the disability impacts education.  It should paint a full picture of who your child is, not just list test scores or generic statements.  When this section is weak or vague, the rest of the IEP usually falls apart too. 

Then come the accommodations and supplementary aids. These supports are supposed to help even the playing field so your child can access the general education curriculum alongside peers. They are not supposed to be random checkboxes selected from a menu. 

These sections should directly connect back to the struggles identified in the present levels. For example, if a child has difficulty with attention and executive functioning, there should probably be supports for organization, chunking assignments, visual reminders, extra processing time, or reduced distractions. If a child struggles with sensory overload, the IEP should address sensory supports and regulation needs. 

Everything should connect.  That is how individualized planning is supposed to work. 

Then we get to the goals. 

The goals should target the exact skills your child needs to develop in order to close the gap between where they currently are and where they should be.  If your child is behind in reading, writing, emotional regulation, social interaction, math, communication, or executive functioning, the goals should specifically address those areas. And they should be measurable. 

Too often, I see vague goals that sound impressive but say very little. Statements like “student will improve executive functioning” or “student will reduce behaviors” are not enough. 

A meaningful goal should clearly explain: 

• what skill is being worked on,  

• how progress will be measured,  

• what success actually looks like,  

• and how the team will know whether progress is happening.  

Parents deserve clarity. 

This is where I worry about AI becoming overused in special education. AI can generate polished language quickly, but it cannot truly understand a child. It cannot see the exhaustion many neurodiverse children feel after masking all day at school. It cannot understand the anxiety, frustration, sensory overload, shutdowns, or emotional toll that many families live with every single day. 

And it definitely cannot build relationships with students. 

Children are not templates. 

Their IEPs should not be either. 

As parents, we really need to slow down and carefully read our child’s IEPs. Look for repeated language, vague goals, missing supports, inconsistencies between sections, or accommodations that do not actually match your child’s needs. 

Most importantly, ask yourself:
“Does this document actually sound like my child?” 

Because it should. 

At the end of the day, technology can absolutely support educators. Teachers are overwhelmed, and many are doing their best with limited resources and growing demands. But it should never replace thoughtful, individualized planning for children with disabilities. 

As both a parent and an attorney, I believe families need to start paying close attention to how AI is being used in special education. Convenience can never become more important than compliance. And efficiency should never come at the expense of truly understanding a child. 

Our kids deserve better than copy-and-paste education plans. 

They deserve to be seen as individuals. 

At Shefter Law, we help parents understand whether their child’s IEP is truly individualized and appropriate for their needs. We can review IEPs, evaluations, and school documents, suggest changes, and help parents walk into meetings feeling informed and empowered. 

For families who want additional support, we can also attend IEP meetings with you to help ask questions, address concerns, and advocate for the services and supports your child needs to succeed.