Special Education Terms and Acronyms

Special education programs use a lot of acronyms and specialized terms. Please see the Special Education Terms and Acronyms listing below for helpful definitions.

504 Plan: A 504 plan is a legal document that outlines obligated school supports and services needed to address a disability as broadly defined by section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Note: a 504 plan is not an IEP and should be closely monitored by parents or caregivers to be sure it is followed by the teachers and school.

Abeyance: An abeyance is a temporary halt to something, with the emphasis on “temporary.”

Accessibility: Accessibility is the “ability to access” the functionality and benefit of some system or entity. This term is used to describe the degree to which a product (such as a device, a service, or an environment) is accessible by as many people as possible.

Accommodations: Accommodations are adaptations made for specific individuals with disabilities (as defined by law) when a product or service isn’t accessible. These techniques and materials don’t change the basic curriculum but do make learning a little easier and help students communicate what they know.

Achievement Tests: Measures of acquired knowledge in academic skills, such as reading, math, writing, and science.

Adaptive Physical Education: The need for adaptive physical education or adaptations to general education PE will be determined by the IEP team in alignment with the evaluation results. IEP teams should use the adapted physical education worksheets to help decide on the appropriate model for health and fitness access for the student.

Adaptive Software: Adaptive software is any software or program that builds a model of the preferences, goals, and knowledge of each individual student and uses that model throughout the interaction with the student in order to adapt to that student’s assessed needs.

Advocacy: Recognizing and communicating needs, rights, and interests on behalf of a child; making informed choices.

ADR: Alternative Dispute Resolution: Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a mediation for the resolution of complaints between parents and school district personnel in a cooperative forum of problem- solving conducted by skilled neutral facilitators who are not SFUSD employees.

ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act: The ADA is a federal civil rights law that provides legal protections for individuals with disabilities from discrimination in employment, state and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, telecommunications, and transportation. Title II of the ADA requires schools to make educational opportunities, extracurricular activities, and facilities open and accessible to all students. These provisions apply to brick-and-mortar and online schooling.

Assessment: Process of identifying strengths and needs to assist in educational planning; includes observation, record review, interviews, and tests to develop appropriate educational programs, and to monitor progress.

Assessment Plan: The description of the battery of tests (psychological, achievement, language, etc.) to be used in a particular student’s assessment.

AT: Assistive Technology: Assistive technology is any item, piece of equipment, product or system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability.

ADHD: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood. It is usually first diagnosed in childhood and often lasts into adulthood. Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors (may act without thinking about what the result will be), or be overly active.

Auditory Discrimination: Ability to identify differences between words and sounds that are similar.

Auditory Processing: Ability to interpret auditory information.

BIP: Behavior Improvement Plan: A plan developed following an FBA that promotes positive behavior interventions and strategies to reduce the target behavior and to teach replacement behaviors.

Collaboration: Working in partnership on behalf of a child, e.g., parent and teacher, or special education teacher and general education teacher.

Compliance Complaint: Complaint filed with the state department of education or local school district by a person who feels that an educational law has been broken.

DHH: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services and Audiology: Audiology services my include identification of students with hearing loss and/or providing specialized activities, programs, or aids to address a student’s hearing loss.

Discrepancy: Difference between two tests, such as between measures of a child’s intellectual ability and their academic achievement

Due Process: A formal way to resolve disputes with a school about your child’s education. You can file a due process only for special education disputes. You have the right to an impartial hearing officer and to present evidence and witnesses at the due process hearing.

Dysarthria: Difficult or unclear articulation of speech usually occurs when the muscles you use for speech are weak or you have difficulty controlling them; affects ability to pronounce sounds correctly.

Dyscalculia: Difficulty in understanding numbers which can impact basic math skills; trouble calculating.

Dysgraphia: Difficulty writing legibly with age-appropriate speed.

Dyslexia: Difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols. Can make reading, writing, spelling, listening, speaking, and math challenging.

Dysnomia: Difficulty remembering names or recalling specific words; word-finding problems.

Dyspraxia: Difficulty performing and sequencing fine motor movements, such as buttoning.

ERP: Emergency Response Protocol: This is a response plan put in place in advance of anticipated “emergencies that pose an imminent likelihood of serious bodily harm.” As a parent or caregiver, you may elect to have an ERP plan by checking a box located in the IEP file indicating your consent or you may choose to leave the box unchecked. “Emergency response protocols, if developed, must be incorporated into a students’ IEP and reviewed annually. Emergency protocols shall not be used as a substitute for the systematic use of a behavioral intervention plan.

ESY: Extended School Year: This is a service delivered during school breaks (summer, winter break, etc.) that is designed specifically to address students who need support in maintaining academic or behavioral skills. Determination for eligibility is based on documentation if regression and recoupment as well as input of the IEP team regarding the severity of the student’s disability, emerging skills, and rate of progress.

ESSA: Every Student Succeeds Act: The nation’s main law governing K–12 education, ESSA calls for states, districts, and schools to provide students access to challenging academic standards and holds schools accountable for the success of students, including students with disabilities and other subgroups.

FERPA: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children’s education records. These rights transfer to the student when they reach the age of 18 or attend a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are “eligible students.”

FBA: Functional Behavior Assessment: An evaluation tool used to understand the function of a student’s behavior and is the basis for developing positive intervention supports.

FAPE: Free Appropriate Public Education: FAPE has two meanings, which can both apply to a student with an IEP. Section 504 holds that disabled students have access to the same educational opportunities as their non-disabled peers. Under IDEA, FAPE requires an individualized educational program that is designed to meet the child’s unique needs and from which the child receives educational benefit.

IEE: Independent Educational Evaluation: An evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner that is not employed by your child’s school district. This can be requested if the parent or guardian disagrees with the evaluation completed by the district.

IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: The nation’s main law governing specific rights of K–12 students with disabilities (and a civil rights law), IDEA entitles all public school students to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). Students suspected of having a disability have the right to a free evaluation, and students deemed eligible for special education have the right to special education and related services.

IEP: Individualized Education Program: An IEP is a document that describes the services, accommodations, and modifications that your child is legally bound to receive.

Informed Consent: Agreement in writing from parents that they have been informed and understand implications of special education evaluation and program decisions; permission is voluntary and may be withdrawn.

LAP: Learning Assistance Program: The Learning Assistance Program (LAP) provides supplemental instruction and services to students who are not yet meeting academic standards in basic skills areas as identified by statewide, school, or district assessments or other performance measurement tools.

LRE: Least restrictive environment: A term meaning a legal requirement within IEDA that students receive education alongside their nondisabled peers to the greatest extent possible. It is a principle, not a place.

MDM: Manifestation Determination Meeting: A student with a disability notified of a suspension or expulsion lasting 10 or more school days, consecutively or cumulative in 1 year or the student has been subjected to a series of removals that constitute a pattern. The district must convene an MDM with parents, district, and IEP team members. MDM must take place no later that 10 school days after the date in which the district determined a change in placement.

Modification: Modifications are changes in the delivery, content, or instructional level of a subject or test. They result in changed or lowered expectations and create a different standard for kids with disabilities than for those without disabilities.

MTSS: Multi-Tiered Support System: The district utilizes the core principles of the MTSS process which combines systematic assessment, decision-making and mulit0tiered services delivery model to improve educational and social and emotional behavioral outcomes for all students. Under this model, students receive support through differentiation in core classroom instruction and small group instruction in class or during additional intervention time.

Multidisciplinary Team: Professionals with different training and expertise; may include, but is not limited to, any combination of the following public school personnel — general education teacher, special education teacher, administrator, school psychologist, speech and language therapist, counselor — and the parent.

Orientation and Mobility: Orientation and mobility services are provided to students with visual impairments. They are intended to enable a student to safely navigate their school, home, and community environments.

OT: Occupational Therapist: Occupational therapy services help children participate in activities of daily life. Services may address a broad range of need from strategies to maintain attention in class to assistance holding a pencil.

PBIS: Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

PBIS is a three-tiered framework to improve and integrate all of the data, systems, and practices affecting student outcomes every day.

Tier one practices and systems establish a foundation of regular, proactive support while preventing unwanted behaviors. Schools provide these universal supports to all students, school wide.

Tier two practices and systems support students who are at risk for developing mor serious problem behaviors before these behaviors start. These supports help students develop the skills they need to benefit from core programs at school.

At tier three, students receive more intensive, individualized support to improve their behavioral and academic outcomes. At this level, schools rely on formal assessments to determine a student’s need.

PLEPS: Present Level of Educational Performance: IDEA requires that each IEP must include a statement of the child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance. The “present levels” statement is crafted by considering the areas of development in which a child with a disability may need support. These are roughly divided into the two areas of development: academic and functional.

PT: Physical Therapy: Physical therapy is a service provided to students who have conditions that impact their movement and mobility, that interfere with the student’s ability to participate in the educational environment. Movement and mobility activities include standing, transferring, and muscle strengthening.

Primary Language: Language that the child first learned, or the language that’s spoken in the home.

PWN: Prior Written Notice: A Prior Written Notice (PWN) is a notice and summary of decisions that have been made regarding your student’s educational program provided to parents before it is implemented. It needs to be provided to parents every time a decision and change has been made and when something proposed was rejected.

Procedural Safeguards: Legal requirements that ensure parents and kids will be treated fairly and equally in the decision-making process about special education.

Progress Reports: Progress Reports must inform parents of their child’s progress toward each annual goal; determine whether progress is sufficient for their child to achieve the goals by the annual IEP due date; must be reported on when report cards are sent out (a copy must be sent home to parent/guardian)

Pupil Records: Personal information about the child that is kept by the school system and is available for review by legal guardians and others directly involved in their education.

Related Services: Related services is the term for those services a disabled child needs in order to benefit from special education. Related services include speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and rehabilitation counseling are related services. Transportation to school is a related service.

Resiliency: Ability to pursue personal goals and bounce back from challenges.

Retention: The practice of having a student repeat a certain grade-level (year) in school; also called grade retention.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act prohibits discrimination in the education of children and youth with disabilities; vocational education; college and other post-secondary programs; employment; health, welfare and other social programs; and other programs and activities that receive federal funds.

Service Pathways

These primary service type descriptions apply to students enrolled in Seattle Public Schools, grades K-12, and students receiving special education transition services (up to 21 years old).

Resource: Students with the primary service type of Resource receive SDI addressing the mild to moderate differences in their instructional needs for specific academic needs and social skills. These students spend the majority of their instructional time in general education settings with targeted support.

Extended Resource: Starting in the 2023-2024 school year, SPS is making change to two special education service pathways. Access and Social Emotional Learning will combine to become Extended Resource Pathway. Students will receive SDI that supports their social/emotional skills and social understanding. This new service pathway will serve students with moderate to intensive academic and functional needs. Students may also benefit from specialized instruction part of the day (small group settings and intervention).

Focus: Students with the primary service type of Focus receive SDI addressing their intensive academic and functional needs. Students have the opportunity to participate in the general education curriculum through specially designed instruction at their present level of performance. These students benefit from spending a majority of their instruction time in a smaller group setting as their LRE, but this can vary by IEP.

Distinct: Students with the primary service type of Distinct benefit from a curriculum which differs significantly from the general education curriculum. SDI can include academic, communication, life, and functional skill components. Services are frequently delivered within a small group setting, but this can vary by IEP.

Hearing: Students with a primary service type of Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHH) receive SDI in their least restrictive environment. Instructional content provides students with opportunities to participate in general education curriculum through SDI with accommodations, modification, and interpreter services. Students may benefit from a concentration of support services or specialized facilities outside their assignment area.

Vision: Students with the primary service type of Vision receive SDI in their least restrictive environment as determined by their IEP team. Instructional content provides students opportunities to participate in general education curriculum through SDI with accommodations and modifications. Students may benefit from a concentration of support services or specialized facilities outside their assignment area.

Medically Fragile: Students with the primary service type of Medically Fragile receive SDI in their least restrictive environment as determined by their IEP team. Instructional content provides students opportunities t participate in general education curriculum through SDI at their present level of performance. Students may benefit from a concentration of support services or specialized facilities outside their assignment area.

18-21 Transition Services: 18-21 Transition Services is intended to provide SDI to students 18-21 years of age with intensive functional special education needs. This service is open to students 18-21 years old, who qualify for and IDEA disability category.

SEL: Social Emotional Learning

Social Emotional Learning is the lifelong process of learning how to develop a healthy identity, manage emotions, achieve goals, show empathy, have supportive relationships, ad make responsible decisions.

Self-Advocacy: Child’s ability to explain specific learning needs and seek necessary assistance or accommodations.

SLD: Specific Learning Disability: One of the 13 IDEA categories of a disability. A disorder is one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations ,including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.

SLP: Speech/Language Pathologist: Speech language pathologists in Seattle Public Schools work with students who have difficulties communicating, impacting their learning and/or social interactions. Common areas of treatment include speech sounds, language, fluency, and social communication. Students are served one-on-one or in small groups depending on their needs. In addition, students can be seen within the classroom or in a therapy room.

SPED: Special Education: Specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of eligible kids whose educational needs can’t be met through modification of the regular instructional program; provides for a range of options for services, such as pull-out programs, special day classes; available to kids enrolled in public schools.

SDI: Specially Designed Instruction: Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) is determined by the IEP team and is derived from assessment information, data collected, and goals/objectives developed in the student’s area(s) of need. Each student’s educational needs are unique; thus, SDI and services may vary greatly between students.

SST or SIT: Student Success Team or Student Intervention Team: The student success team or student intervention team is involved in evaluations and develops the supports included in a 504 plan.

Transition: Process of preparing kids to function in future environments and emphasizing movement from one educational program to another, such as from elementary school to middle school, or from school to work.

Twice-Exceptional: Students who qualify for both special education services and advanced learning/highly capable services.

UDL: Universal Design for Learning: UDL is a way to optimize teaching to effectively instruct a diverse group of learners. The approach is based on insights from the science of how people learn. It emphasizes accessibility in how students access material, engage with it, and show what they have learned. UDL can be applied to in-person or virtual educational settings.

Vision Services: Vision services are available to qualifying low vision and blind students in their neighborhood or assigned school. Services are provided on an itinerant basis and may include orientation and mobility instruction in vision-specific skills, adaptation of school materials, and other supports necessary to access the school day.

Visual Processing: Ability to interpret visual information

Special Education Guide Resource

Seattle Special Education PTSA developed a comprehensive guide to special education in Seattle Public Schools: Getting to Results: A Guide to Special Education in Seattle Public Schools (available in 10 languages). This guide takes you through getting an IEP, language accommodations, advocacy tips, definitions, student introduction guide, FAQ’s, understanding school discipline policies, and a list of resources.