Black Representation in Tech Matters to Special Education

It’s an undisputed fact: the number of K-12 special-education students is slowly but steadily rising, having increased significantly over the last decade. Studies also show that, of the nation’s roughly 7.5 million special education students, nearly 2 in 10 are Black.

Given there’s a nationwide shortage of special education teachers, it makes sense that some districts would outsource some of their duties to a robot — namely, artificial intelligence. The powerful computer programs can help write lesson plans and customize them for individual students’ needs, among other things.

With AI technology changing every single day, education professionals are working diligently to dissect the role it’ll play in K-12. Part of that research takes a look at how A.I shows up in special education, and its impact on students with disabilities, especially Black students with disabilities.

Although it may seem like a godsend to stressed-out SpEd teachers and students with different learning abilities, experts say it’s unclear whether A.I. will be a help or a hindrance for Black special-education students. One big issue: the lack of people of color in A.I. development, a problem that often means technology that has racial and cultural blind spots.

RELATED: It’s Not Too Late to Keep Racist A.I. Out of Black K-12 Schools

“I work with product developers that are investigating ways that their products and features of their products can specifically impact black, Latino, and students experiencing high poverty,” says Shayla Cornick, director of research and development at Digital Promise, an education technology company. “And what they’re trying to do is look for ways to increase motivation, engagement, and persistence of these students.”

In the 2022-23 school year, 15 percent of all public school students received special education or related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). From interactive online lesson plans to ways families can check their student’s progress – the role of A.I is in special education, and experts believe families also need to be a part of the conversation on how the latest tech is deployed in the classroom.

Incorporating AI into Special Education

Cornick, and many others advocating for inclusion say the scarcity of representation in tech, can trickle down to marginalized students like students with disabilities.

Most students often engage with A.I through platforms like ClassDojo to keep them informed on lessons, and Kahoot! which encourages classroom engagement and participation. But for special education, which typically involves smaller classrooms that emphasize skills like communication, and behaving well along with academic enrichment, finding ways to introduce the latest tech gem may be more difficult for some than others.

“I think it has a lot of potential to offer additional kinds of resources and support, for students that are typically lacking in the types of support and guidance that they receive,” Cornick says.

Platforms like Digital Promise have tools like the Learner Variability Project, creating guides for educators and students with unique needs.

“Being able to customize dialects, being able to customize imagery and the environment around them to learn in really cool ways – it’s really interesting and exciting to hear and see,” Cornick says. “I’m also seeing them doing a lot with having the tools to adjust to the behaviors of the students.”

Challenges and Ways to Improve

Lack of transparency from innovators can translate into their work in different kinds of ways, like implicit bias can show up in the computed responses and images.

“There is a lot of backdoor stuff happening with AI around who’s creating the models and what that process looks like,” Cornick says. “So I think there should be a level of transparency that product developers provide around how and if AI has been used in teachers’ work.”

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