CIDDL at CEC 2026: Highlights from Salt Lake City
Authors: Philip Garza; info@ciddl.org
What an incredible week in Salt Lake City! From the opening workshop on Wednesday morning to the final blitz on Friday afternoon, CEC 2026 was full of energy, ideas, and conversations about where AI and special education are headed together. The CIDDL team is grateful for every attendee, presenter, and partner who stopped by our sessions, joined us at the Tech Playground, or connected with us from afar.
A Theme Worth Carrying Home
A throughline ran across the convention, voiced most clearly in Jody Britten’s keynote and echoed throughout CIDDL’s own sessions: the real work of AI integration is not about the tools. It is about the systems, pedagogies, and relationships that make those tools meaningful. That framing shaped how the CIDDL community showed up at CEC 2026, and it is worth carrying into the weeks and months ahead.
From the Workshop to the Keynote Stage
CIDDL opened the week with Pre-Convention Workshop 5, Empowering Special Education with AI: A Hands-On Workshop (March 11, 9:00 AM–12:00 PM). The half-day session guided participants through practical applications of AI in curriculum design, instruction, learning supports, and assessment, with sustained attention to ethical implementation and the specific responsibilities educators carry when serving students with disabilities. Participants left with tools and strategies ready for their classrooms the following week.
Two Hot Topic sessions extended the conversation. Supporting AI Integration in Your School and Classroom (March 11, 2:15–3:15 PM) offered a framework for responsible adoption—checklists, planning prompts, and evaluation criteria grounded in what schools actually need to move from interest to action. From Insight to Action: Using AI to Enhance Teaching and Learning for All Students (March 12, 1:00–2:00 PM) broadened the lens to examine how AI serves teachers, related service providers, administrators, and faculty across the full range of roles in special education.
The Tech Playground: 28 Blitzes, Three Days, One Community
The CIDDL table in the Tech Playground was busy from open to close. Over three days, CIDDL-affiliated presenters delivered 28 fifteen-minute blitzes—a remarkable cross-section of the field. Across those sessions, a few themes emerged:
AI is research-based and evidence-based. Matthew Marino, Ph.D., shared findings from an AI pilot study with postsecondary students with intellectual disabilities, and Tal Slemrod, Ph.D. addressed how AI can help close the gap between research and classroom practice. The field is building its evidence base in real time.
AI and the learner as a whole person. Philip Garza connected adaptive AI to executive functioning; Yerin Seung explored AI’s role in supporting executive functioning and task analysis; Melanie Farmer introduced the potential of biometric data to understand classroom attention, stress, and self-regulation. These sessions moved beyond surface-level tool use to deeper questions about how AI can respond to learners’ cognitive and emotional lives.
AI in the structures educators depend on. Olivia Coleman, Ph.D., and Danielle Waterfield tackled AI in IEP development. Tiffany Hunt and colleagues presented a multi-agent LLM system for developing and evaluating compliant, high-quality IEPs. James Basham, Ph.D., connected AI tools directly to High Leverage Practices. Jennifer Kouo, Ph.D., showcased EduNavigator AI, a tool built in partnership with educators from the ground up.
AI in content areas and instructional design. Sessions on math literacy instruction, vocabulary instruction through generative AI, evidence-based math gaming, co-created lesson planning, and personalized learning illustrated how AI is moving into every corner of curriculum and pedagogy.
What’s New at CIDDL
The team used the Wednesday blitz to share the latest from CIDDL. A few items worth bookmarking:
- AI Ethics Practitioner’s Guide: What Every Educator Should Know About Ethics, Data, and Decision-Making When Using AI: a free, research-grounded framework for educators and school leaders navigating AI adoption. Available at ciddl.org.
- CID AI Chatbot: CIDDL launched its AI chatbot in beta at chat.ciddl.org, a purpose-built tool for navigating CIDDL’s resources and getting answers to practical questions about AI in special education.
- AI State Guidance Monitoring: CIDDL has reviewed guidance from 31 states meeting established criteria. Only 22 address students with disabilities specifically—a gap the field should not overlook. Findings are at ciddl.org.
- Framework for Responsible AI Integration in PreK–20 Education: Practical, evolving guidance for strategic AI adoption designed to serve all students.
- Tech Alliance: CIDDL is recruiting schools of education and special education personnel preparation programs for a sustained technical assistance program focused on integrating educational, assistive, and AI technologies.
- Early Career Faculty Writing Collaborative: A national network for tenure-track faculty in special education to build research partnerships, increase publications, and grow grant competitiveness. Founding cohort applications are open at tinyurl.com/CIDDLearly.
- CIDDL Internship: A six-week summer program for doctoral scholars offering co-PI mentorship, professional development, and a CEC 2027 dissemination opportunity. Apply here.
- Doc Student Writing Lab: Biweekly Zoom sessions continue through spring 2026. Join at tinyurl.com/CIDDLLAB (passcode: 1234).
Join the conversation in our community!
If you were at CEC 2026 or followed along from home, we would love to hear what resonated with you. Thank you to every presenter, partner, and attendee who made CIDDL’s presence at CEC 2026 so memorable. See you in 2027.
CIDDL is committed to providing high-quality resources to support the growing knowledge, adoption, and use of educational technologies by educators, related services, and leadership preparation programs. For more resources, including videos and blogs, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn. The most important part of our CIDDL community is YOU. Join our community and share the innovative ways you are using technology, ask a question about technology integration, or participate in our bi-weekly live AI Community Chats. We look forward to seeing you in our community!