Question · IDEA

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

IDEA guarantees eligible children with disabilities a free appropriate public education through an individualized education program (IEP) developed by a team that includes parents.

AboutIDEA
Legal forceBinding on states and school districts receiving IDEA funds
Checked21 Oct 2026

01 / The answer

The short answer

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.
IDEA · checked 21 Oct 2026

02 / The rule

What IDEA requires

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.

  1. 01Develop each IEP through the IEP team, including parents, based on the individual child; AI drafts cannot replace team decisions.
  2. 02Use a variety of assessment tools; never use any single measure as the sole criterion for eligibility or programming (34 CFR 300.304(b)).
  3. 03Use assessments that are not racially or culturally discriminatory, valid and reliable for their purpose, and given by trained personnel.
  4. 04Protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable information in special education records (34 CFR 300.610-300.626).

03 / Records

Records to keep

  1. 01IEP meeting records showing team review of any AI-drafted content
  2. 02Evaluation reports listing instruments used and their validity
  3. 03Parental consent and records-disclosure logs
  4. 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.

SOURCES

Go back to the source

PRIMARY
PRIMARY
34 CFR 300.304, Evaluation procedures

Legal Information Institute (Cornell)

GUIDANCE
Avoiding the Discriminatory Use of Artificial Intelligence (Example 16: AI-written Section 504 plans), archived copy

U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (copy hosted by Connecticut DAS)

RELATED

Related: IDEA: the full guide