The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has been on the rise for the last several years. While the use of AI can be a tool to assist educators and administrators alike, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Special Education Department would like to remind Local Education Agencies (LEAs) of the responsibilities they hold with respect to developing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) under 34 CFR 300.324, 23 IAC 226.220, and 23 IAC 226.230. LEAs should review and/or revise internal policies and procedures related to AI to prevent violations related to the rights of students with IEPs. Illinois has defined AI as:
"Artificial intelligence" means a machine-based system that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers, from the input it receives, how to generate outputs, such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments. "Artificial intelligence" includes generative artificial intelligence. "Generative artificial intelligence" means an automated computing system that, when prompted with human prompts, descriptions, or queries, can produce outputs that simulate human-produced content, including, but not limited to, the following: (1) textual outputs, such as short answers, essays, poetry, or longer compositions or answers; (2) image outputs, such as fine art, photographs, conceptual art, diagrams, and other images; (3) multimedia outputs, such as audio or video in the form of compositions, songs, or short-form or long-form audio or video; and (4) other content that would be otherwise produced by human means. (775 ILCS 5/2-101(M-N))
To support LEAs, ISBE has compiled the below resources to assist districts with ensuring that if AI is utilized, it is in an appropriate manner.
