Core Acronyms and Laws

IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act): The federal law that guarantees children with disabilities the right to a free, appropriate public education. IDEA requires schools to identify, evaluate, and provide special education services to eligible students.

IEP (Individualized Education Program): A legally binding document that outlines the special education services, goals, accommodations, and supports a child with a disability will receive. Every child who qualifies for special education must have an IEP.

FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education): The right of every child with a disability to receive an education that is provided at no cost to the family, meets the child's unique needs, and provides meaningful educational benefit.

LRE (Least Restrictive Environment): The principle that children with disabilities should be educated alongside their non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate. Removal from general education should only occur when the disability is so severe that supplementary aids and services cannot achieve satisfactory results.

Section 504: Part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. A 504 Plan provides accommodations to ensure equal access to education but does not provide specialized instruction like an IEP.

ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act): A federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including schools.

FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act): A federal law that protects the privacy of student education records and gives parents certain rights regarding their children's records.

OCR (Office for Civil Rights): The federal agency within the U.S. Department of Education that enforces civil rights laws, including Section 504 and ADA, in schools.

Evaluation and Eligibility Terms

FBA (Functional Behavioral Assessment): A process used to identify the underlying causes of a student's challenging behavior. An FBA examines what triggers the behavior, what maintains it, and what function it serves for the child.

BIP (Behavior Intervention Plan): A written plan based on an FBA that outlines strategies and supports to address challenging behavior. A BIP includes proactive strategies, replacement behaviors, and response procedures.

IEE (Independent Educational Evaluation): An evaluation conducted by a qualified professional outside the school district. Parents have the right to request an IEE at public expense if they disagree with the school's evaluation.

SLD (Specific Learning Disability): One of the 13 disability categories under IDEA. SLD includes conditions like dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia that affect a child's ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do math.

OHI (Other Health Impairment): An IDEA disability category that covers conditions like ADHD, epilepsy, diabetes, and other health conditions that limit strength, vitality, or alertness and adversely affect educational performance.

RTI (Response to Intervention): A multi-tiered approach to identifying and supporting students with learning and behavior needs. RTI involves providing increasingly intensive interventions and monitoring student progress.

MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports): A comprehensive framework that includes RTI and addresses both academic and behavioral needs through a tiered system of support.

Eligibility Determination: The process by which the IEP team decides whether a child qualifies for special education services based on evaluation results and the impact of the disability on educational performance.

Child Find: The legal obligation under IDEA for schools to identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities who may need special education services, regardless of the severity of their disability.

Triennial Reevaluation: A comprehensive reevaluation of a child receiving special education services that must occur at least every three years to determine continued eligibility and update the IEP.

IEP Components and Services

PLAAFP (Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance): The section of the IEP that describes the child's current abilities, strengths, and needs. Also called Present Levels or PLOP.

Annual Goals: Measurable objectives in the IEP that the child should reasonably achieve within one year. Goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).

Benchmarks/Short-Term Objectives: Intermediate steps between the child's present level and annual goals. Required for children who take alternate assessments.

Related Services: Supportive services that help a child benefit from special education, including speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, counseling, transportation, and more.

Supplementary Aids and Services: Supports provided in general education classes to help children with disabilities learn alongside their non-disabled peers. Examples include a one-on-one aide, modified materials, or assistive technology.

Accommodations: Changes to HOW a child learns or demonstrates knowledge without altering the content or expectations. Examples include extended time on tests, preferential seating, or audio versions of textbooks.

Modifications: Changes to WHAT a child is expected to learn or demonstrate. Examples include reduced assignments, simplified content, or alternative assessments.

AT (Assistive Technology): Any device or service that helps a child with a disability participate in education. This ranges from low-tech tools like pencil grips to high-tech devices like speech-generating tablets.

ESY (Extended School Year): Special education services provided beyond the regular school year for students who would experience significant regression without continued services.

Transition Services: A coordinated set of activities for students beginning at age 16 (or earlier in some states) that prepares them for life after high school, including post-secondary education, employment, and independent living.

Placement and Setting Terms

Inclusion: The practice of educating children with disabilities in general education classrooms with appropriate supports and services. Also called mainstreaming or integrated education.

Resource Room: A separate classroom where students with disabilities receive specialized instruction for part of the school day while spending the rest of their time in general education.

Self-Contained Classroom: A separate special education classroom where students with disabilities receive most or all of their instruction. Used when a child's needs cannot be met in the general education setting.

Co-Teaching: An instructional model where a general education teacher and a special education teacher work together in the same classroom to meet the needs of all students, including those with disabilities.

Continuum of Placements: The range of educational settings that must be available to students with disabilities, from general education classrooms to residential facilities, as required by IDEA.

Homebound Services: Educational services provided at a student's home when they are unable to attend school due to medical or other reasons.

Day Treatment Program: An intensive educational and therapeutic program for students with significant emotional or behavioral needs that cannot be met in a traditional school setting.

Rights and Procedural Terms

Procedural Safeguards: The rights guaranteed to parents under IDEA, including the right to participate in all decisions about their child's education, access records, receive prior written notice, and resolve disputes.

Prior Written Notice (PWN): A written document the school must provide to parents before proposing or refusing to change the identification, evaluation, placement, or services for a child with a disability.

Informed Consent: The requirement that parents must be fully informed about and agree to evaluations, initial placement, and certain changes to their child's IEP before the school can proceed.

Due Process Hearing: A formal legal proceeding where a parent or school presents their case before an impartial hearing officer to resolve disputes about a child's special education services.

Mediation: A voluntary process where a neutral third party helps parents and the school reach an agreement about special education disputes without going to a due process hearing.

State Complaint: A formal written complaint filed with the state education agency alleging that a school district has violated IDEA requirements. The state must investigate and resolve the complaint within 60 days.

Stay Put (Pendency): The right of a child to remain in their current educational placement during any dispute resolution process, unless the parent and school agree otherwise.

Manifestation Determination: A review conducted when a child with a disability faces disciplinary removal of more than 10 school days. The IEP team must determine whether the behavior was caused by or substantially related to the child's disability.

Surrogate Parent: A person appointed to represent a child's educational interests when the child's parents cannot be identified or located, or when the child is a ward of the state.

Compensatory Education: Additional services provided to a student to make up for services that should have been provided but were not, due to a school's failure to implement the IEP properly.