Focus area 03

Assistive Technology & AI in the Classroom

Most abandoned assistive technology was selected before anyone described the task the student could not do. The SETT framework reverses that order, starting with the student, the environments, and the tasks, and reaching the tool last. The matcher below applies that sequence and returns four tiers of support rather than a single product name.

Three colleagues reviewing work together on laptops at a shared table

AT decisions belong to a team, not to a catalog

Building technology profile

AT consideration Every IEP 34 CFR 300.324(a)(2)(v)

AT services covered Includes training 34 CFR 300.6, definition of AT service

Trial length before adoption 4 weeks with weekly data points Illustrative

Tools abandoned within a year 1 in 3 usually a training gap Illustrative

Consideration is required, and it is not the same as purchase

The IEP team must consider whether the student requires assistive technology devices and services in developing every IEP 34 CFR 300.324(a)(2)(v). Consideration means the team asked the question and recorded an answer with a reason. The federal definition of an assistive technology service is broad, covering evaluation, acquisition, customization, coordination with other therapies, and training for the student, the family, and the staff who work with the student 34 CFR 300.6. Training is the part districts most often omit, and it is the part that determines whether a device is still in use in March.

AI-assisted tools change the top tier of this ladder rather than replacing the ladder. Text-to-speech, speech recognition, and generated summaries lower the cost of access, and they also introduce questions about student data, about output accuracy, and about whether the student is building the skill or bypassing it. The matcher returns the low-tech option alongside the AI option so that the team makes that trade deliberately.

Primary access need

Grade band

Minutes per school day the barrier costs

Your estimate of time the student spends blocked, waiting for adult help, or off task because of this access barrier.

Adult support available in the setting

Paraprofessional present Shared, part of the day Student works independently

Tiered recommendations

Myth or fact?

Text-to-speech is a crutch that stops a student from learning to read.

Select to reveal

Myth. Access to content and instruction in decoding are separate objectives, and a student can receive both in the same day. Text-to-speech during science reading keeps grade-level content available while structured decoding instruction continues in the reading block. The design question is which task the tool is attached to, not whether the tool is allowed. Source: IDEA 34 CFR Part 300, 300.5 and 300.6

Myth or fact?

Assistive technology services include training for staff and family, not only the device.

Select to reveal

Fact. The federal definition of an assistive technology service covers evaluation, selection, acquisition, customization, maintenance, coordination with other therapies, and training or technical assistance for the student, for the family, and for professionals who provide services to the student. A device delivered without the training component leaves the service requirement unmet. Source: IDEA 34 CFR Part 300, 300.6

Myth or fact?

A device purchased by the district has to stay in the building.

Select to reveal

Myth. On a case-by-case basis, the use of school-purchased assistive technology devices in a child's home or in other settings is required if the IEP team determines the child needs access to those devices in order to receive a free appropriate public education. Homework and community tasks are ordinary reasons for that determination. Source: IDEA 34 CFR Part 300, 300.105(b)

Myth or fact?

Workplace technology a student learns now is governed by different rules after exit.

Select to reveal

Fact. After exit, technology access becomes a reasonable accommodation question under the ADA rather than an IEP entitlement, and the request is initiated by the employee. Teaching a student to describe the access need and to request a specific accommodation is therefore part of transition instruction, not an add-on. Source: DOL ODEP; Job Accommodation Network (JAN) accommodation guidance

Project hub

K-12 Special Education Project

All four focus areas, the live products behind them, and the three ways a school or district can engage.

Accommodations Job Accommodation Network Searchable accommodation solutions by limitation. Useful for mapping a classroom support to its workplace equivalent before exit. Accessible tech PEAT, Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology Guidance on accessible and equitable technology procurement, including AI-enabled tools and their accessibility risks. Federal IDEA site, U.S. Department of Education Full text of the AT device and AT service definitions and the consideration requirement in IEP development. Family engagement Center for Parent Information and Resources Family-facing explanations of AT rights, useful when a device goes home and the family needs the training component. Training Inclusive AI Academy Course tracks on AI literacy for educators and on the handling of student data inside AI-assisted classroom tools.