Question 1

What is IEP Pilot?

Accepted Answer

IEP Pilot is an AI-powered tool built by Expatiate Communications, a special education management consulting firm. It generates IDEA-compliant, SMART IEP goals, PLAAFP statements, and service recommendations from uploaded student assessment documents or through a guided question flow.

Question 2

Is IEP Pilot free?

Accepted Answer

IEP Pilot offers a free tier and a credit-based paid plan. Free tools — including the IEP Document Analyzer — require no account at all. Visit our Tools page to use them.

Question 3

Who built IEP Pilot?

Accepted Answer

IEP Pilot was built by Expatiate Communications, a special education management consulting firm that has worked with LEAs, charter schools, and County Offices of Education. Our team includes experienced special educators, program specialists, and practitioners.

Question 4

What states does IEP Pilot work in?

Accepted Answer

IEP Pilot generates IEP content to the IDEA federal standard, which applies in all 50 states. State-specific compliance guides are available for California, New York, Texas, Florida, Washington, Oregon, Ohio, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. If your state has unique procedural requirements, consult your district's special education compliance office for state-level guidance.

Question 5

What is a PLAAFP in an IEP?

Accepted Answer

PLAAFP stands for Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance. It is a required IEP section under IDEA 2004 (34 CFR §300.320(a)(1)) that describes how a student's disability affects their involvement in the general curriculum. Every IEP goal must connect directly to the PLAAFP.

Question 6

What makes an IEP goal SMART and IDEA-compliant?

Accepted Answer

A SMART IEP goal is Specific (targets a defined observable skill), Measurable (includes baseline, target criteria, and measurement method), Achievable (realistic within an IEP year), Relevant (tied to the disability's educational impact), and Time-bound (has a completion timeframe). IDEA compliance requires goals to address the student's unique educational needs arising from the disability.

Question 7

What is the difference between accommodations and modifications?

Accepted Answer

Accommodations change how a student accesses or demonstrates learning without changing the grade-level standard — for example, extended time or read-aloud. Modifications change what a student is expected to learn, typically reducing the complexity of grade-level content. Both are documented in the IEP.

Question 8

What related services can be included in an IEP?

Accepted Answer

IDEA recognizes a range of related services including speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, school counseling, adaptive physical education, transportation, and orientation and mobility services. Services must be educationally necessary — tied to the student's disability impact on education, not medical need alone.

Question 9

What file types can I upload?

Accepted Answer

You can upload psychoeducational evaluations, speech-language assessments, occupational therapy reports, behavior assessments, previous IEPs, and referral packets in PDF format. Maximum file size is 10MB.

Question 10

Can I use IEP Pilot without documents?

Accepted Answer

Yes. If you do not have documents available, IEP Pilot guides you through structured questions about the student's strengths, challenges, disability category, grade level, and areas of need, then generates appropriate IEP goals.

Question 11

Does IEP Pilot work with my district's IEP software?

Accepted Answer

IEP Pilot is a standalone content generation tool — it does not integrate directly with district IEP platforms. You generate goals, PLAAFP statements, and service recommendations in IEP Pilot, then copy them into your district's system such as Frontline, Illuminate, Arias, or SpEd Forms. This keeps sensitive student data within your district's controlled environment.

Question 12

How should I review AI-generated goals before using them?

Accepted Answer

Treat AI-generated goals as a professional starting point, not a finished product. Before using a goal, verify that the baseline data matches your student's current assessment results, the target criterion is achievable within the IEP year, the measurement method is one your team can realistically implement, and the goal addresses a need documented in the PLAAFP. The IEP team — not the AI — holds professional and legal responsibility for every goal in the document.

Question 13

Is IEP Pilot FERPA compliant?

Accepted Answer

IEP Pilot is designed with student privacy as a priority and follows FERPA, HIPAA, and COPPA guidelines as detailed in our Privacy Policy. We recommend removing or redacting full student names and identifying information before uploading documents.

Question 14

What disabilities does IEP Pilot support?

Accepted Answer

IEP Pilot supports all 13 IDEA disability categories: Specific Learning Disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Speech or Language Impairment, Other Health Impairment, Intellectual Disability, Emotional Disturbance, Multiple Disabilities, Hearing Impairment/Deafness, Orthopedic Impairment, Visual Impairment, Deaf-Blindness, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Developmental Delay.

Frequently Asked Questions

About IEP Pilot

IEP Basics

Using IEP Pilot

Privacy & Compliance

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