AI tools gain ground with school psychologists, but bring practical and ethical questions

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A new study tracking the use of artificial intelligence by U.S. school psychologists finds that AI is moving from novelty to everyday practice — but professionals are navigating both its utility and its limits.

Research published in School Psychology offers one of the first systematic looks at how psychologists embedded in educational settings are integrating AI into their workflows — from documentation to recommendations.

The data shows a rapid adoption curve in the profession: the proportion of psychologists using AI jumped from roughly 29 percent in 2024 to 56 percent in 2025 in broader psychology fields, according to American Psychological Association surveys. 

That trend mirrors teachers’ uptake; a 2025 Gallup survey found about 60 percent of K-12 teachers reported professional AI use during the 2024-25 school year.

In the School Psychology study, about two-thirds of school psychologists surveyed said they had used an AI tool in the past six months. Common applications included content generation — such as treatment recommendations (52.8 percent), report writing (37 percent), answering work-related questions (28 percent), and summarizing material (27.6 percent).

Importantly, respondents reported extensive human oversight over AI output: 94 percent said they checked and edited AI-assisted content before finalizing documents — underscoring that these tools are augmenting, not replacing, professional judgement.

The study also highlights areas of caution. While many practitioners find AI useful for efficiency, attitudes toward AI quality varied across task types. For example, fewer respondents felt AI recommendations matched the quality of their own expertise when it came to interpreting tests or drafting treatment plans.

Ethical and governance questions loom. A majority of practitioners had not disclosed AI use to stakeholders such as parents or administrators, and only a small fraction reported existence of formal AI workplace policies, signaling a gap between technology adoption and organizational guidance.

SOURCE: Psychology Today