DepEd developing AI tool to screen students for disabilities

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education's newly established artificial intelligence (AI) research center is currently developing an AI tool that will help schools more easily identify students who are "at risk of disabilities."

The AI-based system, named Screening using AI-Based Assistance for Young children or SABAY, aims to automate parts of the screening process so children in need of intervention can get it earlier, the department announced in a statement on Monday, April 28.

Despite several policies promoting inclusive education over the past decade, DepEd has struggled with identifying and supporting students with disabilities. Regular classroom teachers often lack the training to assess diverse learning needs, while specialists qualified to make these assessments remain scarce nationwide. 

This gap left scores of children either undiagnosed or placed in segregated special education centers rather than inclusive classrooms — a problem that is compounded by the current shortage of more than 7,600 special education teachers nationwide. 

The new AI screening tool being developed, according to DepEd, is specifically designed to reduce the screening time and the workload of teachers.

“Through the SABAY Project, we affirm our mission that every Filipino child—regardless of ability—deserves timely support and access to quality education. We are making sure that learners with disabilities are no longer left behind,” Angara said in a statement. 

The actual tool is still in early development, said Erika Legara, managing director of DepEd's Education Center for AI Research (ECAIR).

"We're designing ways to automate parts of the screening process to help make school-level decision-making more efficient," Legara said. "The focus is on producing outputs that are interpretable and useful in real-world settings — especially where they inform how support should be extended to learners."

According to DepEd, the ECAIR team is working with the Bureau of Learning Delivery – Student Inclusion Division, special education experts, health professionals, and practitioners to finalize the AI system's architecture and design.

The department plans to begin pilot data collection in selected schools across Metro Manila before expanding the initiative to other regions.

Besides modernizing the identification of learners at risk of disabilities, DepEd said in its statement that the tool will also help improve its implementation of the Child Find System, as mandated in Republic Act 11650 or the Inclusive Education Act.

Child Find policy

In 2022, the DepEd issued guidelines directing public school teachers to actively search for and identify children in their communities who have either never attended school or are struggling with learning.

Formally called the Child Find Policy, the guidelines recognized the difficulty many families face in availing of formal diagnostic evaluations for children showing signs of disabilities or developmental delays.

While awaiting official medical evaluation, DepEd recommended that teachers administer a classroom-based activity assessment tool "to identify developmental delays, strengths, and weaknesses" of students possibly in need of intervention.