The Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals (JAASEP) recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) tools are becoming increasingly integrated into academic and professional practice. To ensure integrity, transparency, and alignment with the highest standards of scholarship, authors submitting to JAASEP must adhere to the following guidance:

1. Transparency of Use

○ Authors must disclose any use of AI tools (e.g., for text generation, data analysis, coding assistance, or image creation) in the manuscript’s Methods or Acknowledgments section.

○ The disclosure should specify the tool(s) used, the purpose, and the extent of use.

2. Author Responsibility

○ AI tools cannot be credited as authors. Authorship requires significant intellectual contribution, accountability, and the ability to respond to peer review, which AI systems cannot provide.

○ Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of content generated with AI assistance.

3. Ethical and Academic Standards

○ Submissions must comply with academic integrity expectations. AI-generated content must not be used to fabricate data, misrepresent findings, or plagiarize existing works.

○ Authors must verify, fact-check, and edit AI-assisted content to ensure scholarly rigor and adherence to JAASEP’s editorial standards.

4. Acceptable Uses

○ Grammar, language refinement, and formatting assistance.

○ Support with coding or data analysis, where the process is transparently described.

○ Drafting outlines or generating ideas, provided the final text reflects the author’s own scholarly work.

5. Unacceptable Uses

○ Submitting AI-generated manuscripts or sections without disclosure.

○ Using AI to manipulate, falsify, or invent data, references, or quotations.

○ Relying on AI to provide interpretations, discussions, or conclusions without human oversight.

6. Review and Enforcement 

○ JAASEP reserves the right to screen submissions for AI-generated content.

○ Failure to disclose AI use or misuse of AI tools may result in rejection of the manuscript, retraction of published articles, or notification to the author’s institution.