One of technology’s biggest benefits has been to cater to underserved communities — today, it’s tackling the vital issue of inclusion in the classroom. The rise of healthtech after the pandemic, for example, allowed doctors to reach rural communities through telemedicine using an internet connection, a device, and, when possible, a camera. The same can be said for tech like low-code/no-code, which has brought non-professionals closer to developing their own desktop, mobile, and website programs.
In the US, one in six children has a developmental disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This means that, in a classroom of around 24 students, four are struggling to keep up with their peers. This is where inclusivity is most needed to level the playing field, so every student can effectively learn and progress in their educational journey.
But what is inclusion in education? The UN defines it as “real learning opportunities for groups who have traditionally been excluded — not only children with disabilities, but speakers of minority languages too.” This includes the hard of hearing, those with vision impairments, dyslexia, physical disabilities, mental health conditions, and intellectual disabilities, among others. Edtech has taken matters into its own hands with powerful innovations that are helping students keep up and feel heard and seen.
Let’s explore how technology is transforming the education sector with tools that bring essential solutions to students with disabilities, equalizing opportunities with inclusive education, and benefiting children, teachers, parents, and society as a whole.
Literacy Support for Higher Inclusion in the Classroom
Sometimes, widespread problems can be addressed with small but mighty solutions. For children with blindness, speech impediments, and mobility issues that prevent them from writing and typing, literacy support tools have become the answer to transform the classroom into a space that adapts to their needs with more inclusive education. That way, they can keep up during lessons, feel included, and evolve their learning exactly as their enabled peers.
Many tools are already integrated into mainstream education learning management systems (LMS), such as Google Classroom, that make it easy to make lessons more inclusive as needed. For instance, a quick toggle can enable speech-to-text capabilities so lessons are easily available to hard-of-hearing students, or conversely, text-to-speech features let students with speech impairments participate in class.
Other tools also include translation options, opening the door for multilingual students learning English to attend lessons without language barriers while their vocabulary expands. Plus, students with ADHD and dyslexia can take advantage of these capabilities to avoid letter confusion and bypass the struggles of written assignments.
Learning platforms are also beginning to enhance inclusive education by adopting alternative fonts that allow students with dyslexia — which make up 80-90% of those with learning disabilities — to read more easily with bottom-heavy characters. Making lines bolder at the bottom, experts have said, prevents the brain from flipping letters. This, plus text-to-speech solutions, can massively unburden dyslexic students in the classroom when time comes to reading and writing.
Instant Accommodations to Nurture Inclusive Education
Teacher aids have been a vital part of the K-12 education system since the 1980s, especially in classrooms with special needs students who need an extra hand during activities, whether that’s an extra explanation of an assignment or clearer hints during a quiz. They became even more essential after the pandemic, when students were struggling after the abrupt switch to remote learning, and many had to skip kindergarten altogether before joining elementary school.
Unfortunately, they’re some of the first to go when there are budget cuts in the education system. This has been the case for the sector in 2025, where recent budget changes have directly affected classrooms that thrived with the extra help of teacher aids that helped build more inclusive education.
The lack of teacher aids also impacts teachers, who are strained by the extra effort in class, and the slower progress due to missing vital help during lessons. “We are really, really struggling already and constantly working in a deficit model to support not only general education students but especially our most vulnerable populations — our multilingual learners and our students with disabilities,” expressed Jennifer Graves, a special education teacher in Connecticut, to ABC News.
As a result of these budget cuts, classrooms designated solely for special needs students might get combined with other learners, losing the value of individualized attention.
Edtech is once again doing its best to create accommodations that offer additional support to students and give time back to teachers during class. One example is an upcoming feature Quizli is working on, which will let teachers personalize the test experience on a case-by-case basis. If a student needs extra explanations or time while taking a test, teachers can provide AI-enabled explanations and lengthen the clock for test-takers, whether due to learning disabilities or language barriers.
AI, when properly regulated and vetted, is proving to be a helpful tool for inclusive education, expanding on topics with simplified language that supports teachers when teacher aids are no longer an option.
Going Above and Beyond with Eye-Tracking Tech
One of the most effective technologies that has made it into the classroom is eye-tracking devices. This way, students with speech and movement disorders can still make it to class and keep up with grade-level work. That’s the case for Bohdan, a Ukrainian student with a complex developmental disorder who attends class with an eye-tracking device that enables his participation in class activities.
Eye-tracking technology works through a camera, near-infrared light, and algorithms that estimate a person’s point of gaze, acting as a hands-free mouse. Today, these devices can be integrated into laptops, embedded into a monitor, or even come in the form of glasses as part of research.
Inclusive Education Solutions Delivered Worldwide
In Bohdan’s case, his teacher asserted that “the children perceive him as a strong participant in the learning process.” Not only could he interact with students by asking them questions about their everyday life, but he could also answer the teacher’s questions during class, like any other student. What was previously impossible without an interpreter in a highly controlled learning environment is now possible in a regular classroom, thanks to advancements in 3D modeling, algorithms, and camera technology.
Inclusion in the classroom signifies progress way beyond education. Students with disabilities no longer have to dream of a life with equal opportunities in school and what comes after. Thanks to today’s technology, the education field is evolving to leave no child behind, helping them forge a quality life where they can experience education, a social life, and job opportunities without discrimination.
Starting from the important foundation that is quality education supported by edtech tools, K-12 students of all walks of life can be set up for a better future, improving themselves, and in turn, society.
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