diff --git a/docs/DEVELOPMENT.md b/docs/DEVELOPMENT.md
index 26491f43e..b71a5c623 100644
--- a/docs/DEVELOPMENT.md
+++ b/docs/DEVELOPMENT.md
@@ -1675,7 +1675,9 @@ by "Provider Independence" above. Call-site imperatives:
   Binding the complete-result SHA-256 means a parent cannot claim it
   integrated a result that later changed. `deferred` suppresses only the
   reminder and forces an honest degraded/best-effort terminal answer until
-  resolved. A child wedged in the legacy `cancel_requested` latch is intent,
+  resolved. That per-value consequence is carried by the
+  `tree_note` payload schema itself, which is the SSOT for when to choose each
+  value, and its enum reads the validator's own set. A child wedged in the legacy `cancel_requested` latch is intent,
   not outcome — it stays visible as cancel-pending until custody settles it.
 - Host task acceptance is root-only; eligibility uses structured facts
   (`outcomes.turn_has_reviewable_effects` plus a typed
diff --git a/ouroboros/tools/task_tree.py b/ouroboros/tools/task_tree.py
index e81ec4141..5757ec7c2 100644
--- a/ouroboros/tools/task_tree.py
+++ b/ouroboros/tools/task_tree.py
@@ -84,7 +84,24 @@ def _tree_read(
 
 
 def get_tools() -> List[ToolEntry]:
-    from ouroboros.task_tree_ledger import DELEGATION_CONSTRAINT_DIRECTIVES, LEDGER_KINDS
+    from ouroboros.task_tree_ledger import (
+        CHILD_RESULT_DISPOSITIONS, DELEGATION_CONSTRAINT_DIRECTIVES, LEDGER_KINDS,
+    )
+
+    # The schema is where the model learns WHEN to choose each value, so the
+    # per-value consequence belongs here rather than in prose elsewhere. Read
+    # from the validator's own frozenset, sorted so the enum order is stable
+    # across worker processes (a frozenset's iteration order is not).
+    disposition_schema = {
+        "type": "string",
+        "enum": sorted(CHILD_RESULT_DISPOSITIONS),
+        "description": (
+            "integrated = consumed by this answer (item closes); irrelevant = not needed "
+            "here (the child result stays as evidence; item closes); deferred = STILL OWED: "
+            "your terminal answer reads degraded/best_effort until you re-disposition this "
+            "exact child_result_sha256."
+        ),
+    }
 
     return [
         ToolEntry("tree_note", {
@@ -125,10 +142,7 @@ def get_tools() -> List[ToolEntry]:
                     "properties": {
                         "type": {"type": "string", "enum": ["child_result_disposition"]},
                         "child_task_id": {"type": "string"},
-                        "disposition": {
-                            "type": "string",
-                            "enum": ["integrated", "irrelevant", "deferred"],
-                        },
+                        "disposition": disposition_schema,
                         "child_result_sha256": {"type": "string"},
                         "children": {
                             "type": "array",
@@ -140,10 +154,7 @@ def get_tools() -> List[ToolEntry]:
                                 "type": "object",
                                 "properties": {
                                     "child_task_id": {"type": "string"},
-                                    "disposition": {
-                                        "type": "string",
-                                        "enum": ["integrated", "irrelevant", "deferred"],
-                                    },
+                                    "disposition": disposition_schema,
                                     "child_result_sha256": {"type": "string"},
                                 },
                                 "required": [
diff --git a/tests/test_child_result_disposition.py b/tests/test_child_result_disposition.py
index 07c005050..3fbfddb13 100644
--- a/tests/test_child_result_disposition.py
+++ b/tests/test_child_result_disposition.py
@@ -914,3 +914,25 @@ def test_full_blackboard_never_locks_out_validated_dispositions(tmp_path, monkey
     )
     assert "ledger is full" not in accepted
     assert not accepted.startswith("⚠️")
+
+
+def test_the_disposition_enum_and_its_cost_come_from_one_place():
+    """The enum was hand-written twice with no per-value meaning, although the
+    consequence of ``deferred`` is real and host-enforced. Both payload sites
+    now read the validator's own set, in a stable order, and the schema states
+    what each value costs — the schema is where the model actually reads it."""
+    from ouroboros.task_tree_ledger import CHILD_RESULT_DISPOSITIONS
+    from ouroboros.tools import task_tree
+
+    entry = next(tool for tool in task_tree.get_tools() if tool.name == "tree_note")
+    payload = entry.schema["parameters"]["properties"]["payload"]["properties"]
+    single = payload["disposition"]
+    batch = payload["children"]["items"]["properties"]["disposition"]
+
+    assert single is batch or single == batch
+    for schema in (single, batch):
+        assert schema["enum"] == sorted(CHILD_RESULT_DISPOSITIONS)
+        assert schema["enum"] == ["deferred", "integrated", "irrelevant"]
+        for value in CHILD_RESULT_DISPOSITIONS:
+            assert value in schema["description"], value
+        assert "degraded/best_effort" in schema["description"]