The vision of equality of opportunity and full participation for students with disabilities in our public education system is a human-centered one, established by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
The opening lines of the IDEA law state: “Disability is a natural part of the human experience and in no way diminishes the right of individuals to participate in or contribute to society. Improving educational results for children with disabilities is an essential element of our national policy of ensuring equality of opportunity … for individuals with disabilities.”
At Goalbook, we are grounded in IDEA’s human-centered vision. Since our founding in 2011, we have pursued our mission to empower educators to transform instruction so that all students succeed.
Our holistic approach keeps humans at the center of the work. By blending technology with comprehensive professional development, services, and support, we help districts invest in developing their most impactful instructional lever: their educators. Our flagship software within our holistic approach is Goalbook Toolkit, a research-backed solution that builds educator capacity to develop high-quality IEPs and implement them with more effective, specially designed instruction, leading to improved student outcomes.
As AI makes its way into education, we stand at a pivotal moment. Advances in AI present both promise and risk for the future of special education. We believe AI should elevate and empower the human, relational work of teaching—not replace it, automate it, or shortcut it away.
The manifestation of our philosophy is Goalbook Threads, the latest feature within Goalbook Toolkit. Threads is human-centered AI that amplifies educators’ expertise by weaving their knowledge of individual student needs with research, data, instructional practices, and IDEA requirements.
Goalbook Toolkit with Threads increases teacher effectiveness in designing IEPs that are more coherent, cohesive, and deeply human.
Why Goalbook Toolkit’s New AI Feature Matters
IEPs are a cornerstone of the IDEA and among the most impactful documents in a student’s educational journey, yet improving educator effectiveness in developing cohesive and individualized IEPs is a persistent challenge. All too often, educators do not receive the training and ongoing professional development necessary to fully understand the needs and strengths of their students. This hampers their ability to create IEPs that effectively reflect each student’s unique story and ensure that all components of their instructional plan are aligned.
Although educators may complete the individual parts of an IEP to standard, the final documents often read as a collection of disconnected pieces rather than a coherent plan that shapes individualized student learning. Even experienced educators struggle to see how assessments, present levels, goals, and services build upon one another in practice—a complexity that can feel insurmountable for new teachers entering the field. These challenges undermine instructional impact, IEP quality, and compliance at the system level.
However, there is a better path. For over a decade, Goalbook Toolkit has served as a proven solution to this challenge, and now, with Threads, that solution is amplified.
Transforming Educator Effectiveness Across IEP Process
By weaving their knowledge of student needs with research, data, instructional practices, and IDEA requirements, Goalbook Threads amplifies educators’ expertise to:
Goalbook Threads is not about shortcuts or automation; rather, as a feature in Goalbook Toolkit, it improves instructional practice across “the golden thread” of special education by helping educators connect all components of the IEP from present levels, to goals, to SDI. The use of Goalbook Toolkit and Threads increases educator efficiency and capacity by:
- Driving educator effectiveness with job-embedded professional development.
- Strengthening educator knowledge of disability research and supporting them in applying their experience and judgment.
- Ensuring educators develop IEPs as they were always intended to be: individualized roadmaps to student success.
With Threads, educators are empowered to create coherent, cohesive IEPs that are both meaningful and compliant. As a result, educators are better equipped to deliver instruction that is individualized, intentional, and effective for each student.
Proof in Practice: Anne Arundel’s Pilot of Goalbook Threads
In the spring of 2025, Anne Arundel County Public Schools piloted Goalbook Toolkit’s feature, Threads. As a district already investing in AI, its leaders were prepared to evaluate new tools critically. They chose to collaborate with Goalbook on Threads not only because of a longstanding relationship of trust, but also because they recognized the need to support educators in their effectiveness to develop more coherent, high-quality IEPs.
Carissa Gardner, Coordinator of Special Education, explained that while educators in Anne Arundel were generally proficient in writing individual components of the IEP, they needed support to improve their effectiveness in developing cohesive IEPs.
“There wasn’t a connection between the different parts of the IEP,” Carissa shared. “It’s kind of like this grab bag of information to throw into the IEP versus looking at a very sequenced process.”
With Goalbook Threads, Anne Arundel district leaders saw the solution to address that challenge. “Goalbook Threads is a phenomenal opportunity to make a visual connection to the progress and development of an IEP,” Carissa said. “It’s like a scaffolding for our teachers to ensure completion and accuracy of all the information that leads to high-quality IEP writing.”
Responsible AI, the Goalbook Way
For Goalbook, AI responsibility extends beyond ensuring technical safety. It means using AI to strengthen the human community of educators, families, and students, and to carry IDEA’s vision forward.
Goalbook Toolkit’s new AI feature, Threads, was built with this commitment at its core. Educators remain firmly at the center, making decisions for their students while building their expertise through the process.
Unlike generic AI IEP tools that automate outputs or generate one-size-fits-all responses, Goalbook Threads incorporates unique student information and reinforces educator judgment and IDEA compliance. As Carissa Gardner explained, “Threads breaks down each section of the IEP, which makes teachers have to think about it and be cognizant of completing all the necessary components.”
This approach reflects Goalbook’s guiding principle: AI should never shortcut the human work of education. Instead, it should help educators see more clearly, make decisions more confidently, and write IEPs that are not only procedurally sound but substantively meaningful.
A Visionary Future
AI should not be used to shortcut the work of special education. It should be used to empower educators and progress IDEA’s vision of equality of opportunity, full participation, and meaningful outcomes for students with disabilities.
Goalbook Toolkit with Threads embodies this commitment. When educators write Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), they are not just filling out forms; they are shaping the educational journeys of real children. Goalbook Threads helps educators ensure that these journeys are coherent, individualized, and aligned with best practices and the promises of IDEA.
We believe education will always remain human work aimed at human goals. Therefore, Goalbook will continue to design solutions that honor this truth, making the system “more human than human.”
As the field of special education evolves, Goalbook will continue to lead responsibly, centering educators and students, and shaping a future with AI in which educators are empowered with the knowledge and skills they need. With Goalbook Threads, we see what is possible when AI is harnessed not to replace the human touch in education, but to strengthen it, ensuring that all students truly succeed.
If you’re interested in learning more about how Goalbook Toolkit with Threads can build educator capacity in your district, request a quote.
