Special Education Glossary

Plain-language definitions of the terms teachers, case managers, and related service providers encounter every day in K-12 special education.

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504 Plan(Section 504, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act): A civil-rights plan under Section 504 that provides accommodations for a student whose disability substantially limits a major life activity.

Accommodations: Changes to how a student accesses the curriculum that do not alter what the student is expected to learn.
Annual Review: The once-per-year IEP meeting where the team reviews progress and updates the plan.

BIP(Behavior Intervention Plan): A written plan that describes strategies for addressing a student's challenging behavior, usually based on a Functional Behavior Assessment.

Compensatory Services(Comp Ed): Additional services a district must provide to make up for services that were denied or not delivered.
Caseload: The roster of students a special education teacher or case manager is responsible for.
Co-teaching: A service delivery model where a special educator and a general educator share instruction of a classroom that includes students with IEPs.

Due Process: The formal legal procedure by which parents and schools resolve disputes about special education.

ESY(Extended School Year): Special education services provided outside the regular school year, usually in summer, for students who would otherwise regress.

FAPE(Free Appropriate Public Education): A student's right under IDEA to receive a Free Appropriate Public Education tailored to their individual needs at no cost to the family.
FBA(Functional Behavior Assessment): An assessment process that identifies the function (purpose) a student's challenging behavior serves.

IEP(Individualized Education Program, Individualized Education Plan): A legally binding written plan for a student with a disability that spells out the specialized instruction and services the school will provide.
IDEA(Individuals with Disabilities Education Act): The federal law that guarantees students with disabilities a free appropriate public education and governs how IEPs are written and delivered.
IEE(Independent Educational Evaluation): An evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner outside the school district, which parents can request at public expense if they disagree with the district's evaluation.

LRE(Least Restrictive Environment): IDEA's requirement that students with disabilities be educated with non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate.

Modifications: Changes to what a student is expected to learn — the curriculum itself is altered, not just how the student accesses it.
Manifestation Determination: The review that decides whether a student's conduct was caused by their disability before certain disciplinary actions can take effect.

PLAAFP(Present Levels, Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance): The section of an IEP that describes what a student currently knows and can do — the baseline from which annual goals are written.
PWN(Prior Written Notice): A written notice the district must give parents before it proposes or refuses to change a student's identification, evaluation, placement, or FAPE.
Progress Monitoring: The ongoing measurement of a student's progress toward IEP goals, used to decide whether instruction is working.

Related Services: Support services — like speech therapy, OT, PT, and counseling — that help a student benefit from special education.
Re-evaluation(Triennial, Triennial Re-evaluation): The re-assessment every three years (or sooner if needed) that confirms a student still qualifies for special education.

SDI(Specially Designed Instruction): Specially Designed Instruction: the adapted content, methodology, or delivery of instruction a student with an IEP needs to make progress.
Service Minutes: The specific number of minutes per week (or other interval) of special education and related services an IEP commits the district to deliver.

Transition Plan(Transition Services, Postsecondary Transition Plan): A required IEP component, starting by age 16 (or earlier in some states), that prepares a student for life after high school.