5 Ways AI Can Support School Social Workers: Tools, Tips, and Ethical Considerations

As technology rapidly evolves, school social workers are facing new opportunities — and new responsibilities — when it comes to integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into their practice. Far from replacing the human touch that is central to our work, AI can be a supportive tool, helping us manage administrative tasks, identify trends, and even enhance student support services when used thoughtfully.

Here are five ways AI can support school social workers, along with practical tips and ethical considerations to guide responsible use.

1. Streamlining Documentation and Administrative Tasks

How AI Can Help:
AI tools like ChatGPT and Magic School AI can reduce the time spent on writing reports, letters, IEP goals, and more! compliance paperwork. Generative AI tools can help organize documentation in a quicker, more structured way, and edit your work while helping you save time.

Tips for Use:

• Always review and edit AI-generated content to ensure accuracy and appropriate language.

• Maintain professional standards and confidentiality when using AI tools. Never enter into AI tools any confidential. information

2. Supporting Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Programming & Counseling Activities

How AI Can Help:
Generative AI tools can assist in creating SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) lesson plans, group activities, and intervention ideas tailored to specific developmental stages (such as early childhood, middle childhood, or adolescence) and aligned with target competencies like self-awareness, emotional regulation, empathy, and responsible decision-making.

Tips for Use:

• Use AI to brainstorm ideas, but adapt lessons to fit your specific school community and students’ lived experiences.

• Cross-reference AI-generated content with evidence-based practices and its relevance to your clients.

3. Analyzing Trends and Early Intervention Planning

How AI Can Help:
Some AI-powered data analysis tools can help school social workers spot patterns in attendance, behavior referrals, and academic performance, offering insights into potential areas of concern before they escalate. Some of these AI-powered K-12 attendance tools include Edia and AllHere.

Tips for Use:

• Use data as a conversation starter, not a definitive conclusion. Ensure data is used responsibly.

• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams when interpreting AI-driven trends.

• AI insights should never be used to label or track students without a clear intervention plan that centers support over surveillance.

4. Enhancing Crisis Response Systems & Student Supports

How AI Can Help:
Some schools are beginning to use AI tools to help triage crisis referrals and offer AI tools to students for wellbeing and mental health support. One such tool is Alongside, a chatbot specifically designed to support youth mental health in educational settings. It provides students with a safe, private space to engage in text-based conversations with an AI wellness companion that offers evidence-informed SEL support, coping strategies, and emotional check-ins. If a student reports they are in crisis in the chatbot, Alongside alerts the school-based team to triage crisis supports.

Tips for Use:

• Use AI as an additional layer — not a replacement — for human judgment.

• Ensure that human review is always part of the process. Technology should augment, not automate, the deeply relational and nuanced nature of crisis intervention.

5. Building Professional Capacity and AI Literacy

How AI Can Help:
AI can also support school social workers’ own professional growth and learning. From research assistants that summarize journal articles to prompt libraries that inspire grant writing, AI offers tools for continuous learning. AI tools like Perplexity can support school social workers with research. Here is a free guidebook to help School Social Workers build their AI literacy in using AI in their practice.

Tips for Use:

• Experiment with AI tools in low-stakes ways first (like brainstorming or outlining).

• Attend trainings focused on AI literacy and ethical integration.
  

Final Thoughts

AI is not here to replace school social workers. Our empathy, ethical grounding, and critical thinking will always be irreplaceable. However, when approached with intention and caution, AI can be a powerful ally — helping us amplify our impact, protect our time, and better serve the students and communities who rely on us.

By integrating AI thoughtfully into our practice, we can continue to lead the way in creating safe, supportive, and innovative school environments. Learn more about opportunities to do this below!

Do you want to build your skills in Data, Technology, and AI for school social work practice? Join us at NYU Silver’s Clinical School Social Work Certificate Program! Applications are now open for our 2025-26 Cohort. I’m excited to be teaching a specialized 5-week module designed to equip school social workers with practical, ethical strategies to integrate AI and technology into their work.

Are you Interested in the future of school social work and AI?
We are currently recruiting participants for a research study on how school social workers are using — or thinking about using — AI in their practice! Your input will be critical in understanding the benefits, challenges, and ethical issues faced when using AI. Additionally, this would help us understand the training and support needs of school social workers in schools around AI.

If you are interested in participating or would like to learn more about the study, please click the link https://utk.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0vsxrWK2EzYC1hA, where you can provide an email or phone number, and we will contact you to follow up.

Thank you for considering lending your voice to this project. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Robert Lucio at rlucio@utk.edu.

The content in this blog was created with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and reviewed and edited by Dr. Marina Badillo-Diaz to ensure accuracy, relevance, and integrity. Dr. Badillo-Diaz's expertise and insightful oversight have been incorporated to ensure the content in this blog meets the standards of professional social work practice.