United States (federal) · statute

IDEA: what it requires, and the records to keep

IDEA guarantees eligible children with disabilities a free appropriate public education through an individualized education program (IEP) developed by a team that includes parents. AI tools used to evaluate students, draft IEPs or deliver services must fit inside its evaluation, individualization and confidentiality rules.

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Legal forceBinding on states and school districts receiving IDEA funds

StatusIn force

JurisdictionUnited States (federal)

Checked21 Oct 2026

01 / What it requires

What IDEA requires

States, school districts and public agencies that receive IDEA funds and serve children with disabilities.

01Develop each IEP through the IEP team, including parents, based on the individual child; AI drafts cannot replace team decisions.
02Use a variety of assessment tools; never use any single measure as the sole criterion for eligibility or programming (34 CFR 300.304(b)).
03Use assessments that are not racially or culturally discriminatory, valid and reliable for their purpose, and given by trained personnel.
04Protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable information in special education records (34 CFR 300.610-300.626).
05Consider each child's need for assistive technology devices and services, and provide them when needed.

02 / AI work

Where it touches AI work

AI tools that screen for disabilities, score assessments or generate IEP goals must meet IDEA's validity, non-discrimination and individualization requirements. Special education data sent to AI vendors falls under IDEA's confidentiality rules as well as FERPA.

03 / Dates

The dates that matter

29 Nov 1975

Education for All Handicapped Children Act (now IDEA) enacted

3 Dec 2004

IDEA reauthorized (IDEIA 2004)

14 Aug 2006

Current Part B regulations published

16 Jun 2026

ED names HHS a partner on special education; enforcement duty unchanged

04 / Enforcement

Who enforces it

U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs and state education agencies; state complaints, due process hearings and civil actions; remedies include compensatory education, reimbursement, attorney's fees and withholding of federal funds.

05 / Records

Records an organisation keeps

What an auditor or an inquiry usually asks to see. Your obligations depend on your role and your facts.

01IEP meeting records showing team review of any AI-drafted content
02Evaluation reports listing instruments used and their validity
03Parental consent and records-disclosure logs
04Assistive technology consideration documented in the IEP

Optional evidence · where Planisphere fits

Keep a record anyone can check

When your team meets a duty, Planisphere can seal the event it reports as a receipt.

01 · Your teamRecord the event

A disclosure shown, a review signed, a model change approved: the event your system reports.

02 · PlanisphereSeal it

The event becomes a sealed receipt, dated and attributed to whoever is signed in.

03 · AnyoneCheck it

Paste the receipt into Verify. No account or key.

A record supports your compliance evidence process. It is not a legal finding or a certification. Systems that call Planisphere's gate API can also hold or refuse an action before it runs.

QUESTIONS

The questions that come next

How do we audit an AI special-ed eligibility tool for IDEA integrity?+

Check that the tool supports the evaluation IDEA requires instead of replacing it. IDEA's rules bar using any single measure as the sole basis for eligibility or programming, require assessments that are valid for their purpose and not racially or culturally discriminatory, and leave the eligibility decision to a group of qualified professionals and the parent. So test the tool's accuracy for its specific use, compare its results across student groups, document its limits, record how the team used its output, and protect the records under IDEA's confidentiality rules. Read the full answer

SOURCES