The Lab’s Weekly Intelligence - Issue 1
The Lab's Weekly Intelligence
Trends in Education — March 2026
AI in the classroom, special education staffing, parent engagement, and the hard questions no one else is asking.
From the Editor
Who We Are and Why It Matters
Hi! I'm Dr. Nikki Harding, Founder and CEO of the Inclusive Leadership Lab. I'm authoring this first publication, but my team will most definitely be offering their insights as we learn and grow together.
We are on a mission to change how educators are supported. We know what we are doing is not working. Teachers are leaving the field in record numbers, exhausted. Principals are overwhelmed with data dashboards, budget cuts, and managing student behavior and parental demands. Special Education leadership teams: same story, slightly different reasons.
Ultimately, we have an unsustainable system that we have to do more than just talk about. We have to take action. It is not the educators' fault. They are caught in a system they did not create. We owe it to our children to be brave enough to speak up and to take action. If you are one of those people, this publication and our community are for you. Welcome, fellow changemaker.
So Dr. Harding — who are you and why do you care so much?
I am a fellow educator, just like you. I started teaching on a waiver when I had my son who was born with Down Syndrome. I wanted to learn how I could give him the best opportunities in life. I felt like education was the key to quality of life.
Do you still believe education is the key to quality of life?
Of course! Not only for him, but for everyone. I also have two typically developing daughters. They deserve high quality instruction just as much as he does. The more I learned about education, the more questions I had. That only inspires me to learn more.
What do you ultimately want to achieve?
I would love to see an education system that runs smoothly — where parents feel like they can trust the system, teachers feel taken care of, and students feel they belong. That is idealistic, but I do not feel it is out of reach if we all work together.
Social Media Trends
Neurodivergence Overload
"TikTok told me I'm autistic" — while advocates have worked for decades for acceptance of neurodiversity into societal norms, there is a growing body of work questioning whether social media has taken it just a bit too far.
If you spend much time on any platform, you will find someone talking about their ADHD or Autism "diagnosis" and how they now understand their "quirkiness." Autism and ADHD are very real diagnoses that impact people's daily ability to function. They are not mild inconveniences.
When people self-diagnose, what impact does that have on true acceptance? Are environments truly more accessible, or is the attitude becoming "I have that too, it is not that big of a deal"?
Another approach in the self-diagnosis field has been to attribute neurodivergence to trauma. The takeaway is that qualified diagnoses are important, trauma matters — but we may need to lean into informing people who do not work in education about disability versus human evolutionary biological differences.
Special Education Staffing
Teacher's Cognitive Load: Is More Better?
Big feelings, big decisions, more training, more frameworks. When do we stop adding and start supporting?
Educators do not want wellness walks or yoga before school. But research shows that when adults can manage the emotional temperature of the room, kids are more likely to follow. When teachers are given more tasks than they can process, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to coregulate their own emotions — which makes classroom management even more difficult.
As leaders, one thing we can do to support teachers is to make sure they can manage what is currently on their plate before more is added. Try doing a temperature check before your next initiative and see if that changes the vibe in your building.
Self-Regulation and Instruction: Research from Frontiers in Psychology examines how teachers' self-regulation affects instructional quality. What professional learning focuses on the connection between self-regulation and instruction? Something worth pondering.
Technology and Instruction
Featured Tech Tool: FAPE Compass
FAPE Compass — AI-Powered Guidance for Special Education Teams
Special education decisions do not only happen in IEP meetings. They occur every day as educators implement IEPs, respond to student needs, and adjust supports in real time. Rather than searching through regulations or lengthy training materials, educators can use FAPE Compass to quickly access clear explanations and practical guidance relevant to their specific question.
Whether teams are considering services, eligibility, procedural safeguards, or appropriate supports, the system helps users connect their decisions to the core legal standard of Free Appropriate Public Education. The goal is not to replace professional judgment — it is to strengthen it over time.
— Dr. Angela Balsley, CEO, Unified Leadership
Learn More and Schedule a Demo →Technology and Instruction
AI Through the Learner's Eyes
Artificial Intelligence is not just one thing — yet it is often lumped together when discussed in education circles. A study from Frontiers in Psychology on perceptions of AI discovered a wide range of understanding among college students. We need to remember that these are our new teachers. There remains a fear of AI when it is not fully understood.
Digital Literacy Is Non-Negotiable. In education, educators are responsible for preparing students for the future of work. Even if current educators are uncertain about today's technology, students in our classrooms need to understand how it works and how to use it safely. What are your thoughts?
Dr. Harding's Hot Take
What Went Wrong with Personalized Learning
I have been seeing quite a few posts on social media lately about the crash and burn of personalized learning — and I have to say, if you had asked me how I felt about this pre-Covid, I would have had a different opinion.
Today, I believe we have more and more struggling students because we have over-personalized Tier 1 instruction. Instead of holding students to a higher standard, we "met them where they are" — and many of them fell further behind. Not to mention, this strategy overworked teachers.
Tiers 2 and 3 are for remediation. Special Education is for Specially Designed Instruction for students with a diagnosed disability that impacts their ability to access the curriculum. Should there be accommodations made when appropriate? Of course. But personalizing everything is taking things a bit too far.
Thoughts on this? Reply and let us know.
Leadership and Community
Parent Engagement as Leadership Infrastructure
Gone are the days when weekly newsletters counted as a parent engagement metric. Emails are left unread. Trust in the school system is on decline.
Families require multiple methods of communication delivered in multiple languages, at an appropriate readability level, in apps that work in a timely manner, using tools that support two-way communication. A static newsletter does not build trust anymore.
Parents like to have access to their child's teachers. Teachers like to protect their work-life balance. How can modern technologies bridge the gap so that students get the education they need, teachers are not answering emails at 10 p.m., and parents have trust in their children's education system?
Parent Square's article on 2026 predictions for parent engagement covers connecting communication to improving chronic absenteeism and the importance of thoughtful AI policy implementation — well worth a read.
Announcements
From the Lab
We provide professional learning for teachers and leaders. We are on a mission to change how educators are supported.
We are currently building out a teacher training program that will end in teacher licensure. Stay tuned for enrollment announcements!
We have an innovative AI-powered platform in development. Subscribe to this newsletter to stay informed.
We love school and business collaborations! Reach out to nikki@, spencer@, or crista@inclusiveleadershiplab.org
