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Your Guide to Acronyms


Special Education Acronyms

Faced with a slew of acronyms coming at you from all directions can be overwhelming. Below is an alphabetical listing of the most common acronyms you will encounter in the area of Special Education.

504/504 Plan Rehabilitation Act of 1973 enforced by the Office for Civil Rights

611 Section 611 of IDEA, covers funds

616 Section 616 of IDEA, monitoring, technical assistance, and enforcement of Part B

618 Section 618 of IDEA, covers data

619 Section 611 of IDEA, covers preschool

642 Section 642 of IDEA, makes sections 616, 617, and 618 applicable, as appropriate, to the Part C Infants and Toddles with Disabilities program

AAC Augmentative/Alternative Communication

ABA Applied Behavior Analysis

ACF Administration for Children and Families

ADA Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

ADD Attention Deficit Disorder

ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

ADL Activities of Daily Living

AE Age Equivalent

AIM Accessible Instructional Materials

ALD Assistive Listening Device

APE Adaptive Physical Education

APR Annual Performance Report

APS Approved Private School

ARRA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

ASD Autism Spectrum Disorder

ASL American Sign Lanuage

AT Assistive Technology

AVTS Area Vocational Technical School

AYP Adequate Yearly Progress

BEC Basic Eudcation Circular

BD Behavioral Disorder

BIP Behavior Intervention Plan

BOE Board of Education

BSE Bureau of Special Education

BSS Behavior Support Services

CAO Chief Administrative Officer

CAP Corrective Action Plan

CAPTA Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act

CART Computer Aided Realtime Translation

CASSP Child & Adolescent Service System Program

CAVP Corrective Action Verification Plan

CBA Curriculum-Based Assessment

CC Closed Captioning

CCDBG Child Care Development Block Grant

CCDF Child Care Development Fund

CCSS Common Core State Standards

CD Cognitive Delay

CEC Council for Exceptional Children

CEIS Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervening Services

CERC Corrections Education Records Center

CF Cystic Fibrosis

CFR Code of Federal Regulations

CHADD Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder

CHIP Children's Health Insurance Program

CIFMS Continuous Improvement Focused Monitoring System

CLD Cultural and Linguistic Diversity

COP Communities of Practice

CP Cerebral Palsy

CPRC Community Parent Resource Center

CST Child Study Team

CTC Career and Technical Education Center

CTE Career and Technical Education

D/HH Deaf / Hard of Hearing

DB Deaf-Blind

DD Developmental Disabilities / Developmental Delay

DIBELS Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills

DMS Differentiated Monitoring and Support

DOE Department of Education

DOH Department of Health

DOJ Department of Justice

DP Due Process

DPH Due Process Hearing

DPHO Due Process Hearing Officer

DPW Department of Public Welfare

DS Down Syndrome

EBP Evidence-Based Practice(s)

EC Early Childhood

ECE Early Childhood Education

ECSE Early Childhood Special Education

ED/EBD Emotional Disturbance

EEOC Equal Employment Opportunities Commission

EHDI Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

EHS Early Head Start

EI Early Intervention

EI Early Intervening/Intervention Services

EIPA Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment

EITA Early Intervention Technical Assistance

EL English Learner

EL Early Learning

ELC Early Learning Challenge

ELL English Language Learners

ELP Early Language Proficiency

EPSDT Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis , and Treatment

ER Evaluation REport

ESD Extended School Day

ESA Educational Service Agency

ESEA Elementary and Secondary Education Act

ESL English as a Scond Language

ESSA Every Student Succeeds Act

ESY Extended School Year

FAPE Free Approrirate Public Education

FAS Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

FBA Functional Behavioral Assessment

FERPA Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

FM Focused Monitoring

FOIA Freedom of Information Act

GAD Generalized Anxiety Disorder

GE/GENED General Education

GEPA General Education Provisions Act

GT Gifted and Talented

HHS Health and Human Services

HI Hearing Impaired/Impairment

HQT Highly Qualified Teacher

HS Head Start

IA Instructional Assistant

IAES Interim Alternative Educational Setting

ICC Interagency Coordinating Council

ID Intellectual Disability

IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

IEE Independent Educational Evaluation

IEP Individualized Education Program

IEU Intermediate Educational Unit

IFSP Individualized Family Service Plan

IHE Institution of Higher Education

ILC Independent Living Center

IQ Intelligence Quotient

ISP Individualized Service Plan

ITP Individualized Transition Plan

IU Intermediate Unit

KEA Kindergarten Entry Assessment

LA Lead Agency

LD Learning Disability

LEA Local Educational Agency

LEP Limited English Proficiency

LICC Local Interagency Coordinating Council

LOF Letter of Finding

LRE Least Restrictive Environment

LTCC Local Transition Coordinating Council

LTF Local Task Force

MA Medical Assistance

MAWA Mutually Agreed Upon Written Arrangement

MD Muscular Dystrophy

MD or MH Multiple Disabilities or Multiple Handicapped

MOU Memorandum of Understanding

MTSS Multi-Tier(ed) System of Support(s)

NASDSE National Association of State Directors of Special Education

NCLB No Child Left Behind

NEA National Education Association

NECTAC National Early Childhood and Technical Assistance Center

NISL National Institute for School Leadership

NOREP Notice of Recommended Education Placement

O & M Orientation and Mobility (Services)

OCD Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

OCDEL Office of Child Development and Early Learning

OCR Office for Civil Rights

ODD Oppositional Defiant Disorder

ODHH Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

ODR Office for Dispute Resolution

OHI Other Health Impairment

OI Orthopedic Impairment

OSEP Office of Special Education Programs

OSERS Office of Special Education Rehabilitation Services

OT Occupational Therapy

OVR Office of Vocational Rehabilitation

P & A Protection and Advocacy

PANDAS Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections

PARCC Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers

Part B I SpecialEducation: School - Aged Children

Part C I SpecialEducation: Birth - Two Year's Old

PASA Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance

PaTTAN Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network

PASS Plan for Achieving Self-Support

PBS Positive Behavioral Supports

PBIS Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports

PD Physical Disability

PD Professional Development / Personnel Development

PDD Pervasive Developmental Disorder

PDD-NOS Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified

PDE Pennsylvania Department of Education

PII Personally Identifiable Information

PLEP or PLP Present Level of Educational Performance or Present Level of Performance

PP or Para Paraprofessional

PS Preschool

PSSA Pennsylvania System of School Assessment

PSSA-M Pennsylvania System of School Assessment-Modified

PT Physical Therapy

PTI Parent Training Information Center

PTSD Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

PVAAS Pennsylvania Value Added Assessment System

PWN Prior Written Notice

RAST Regional Assessment and Support Team

RBI Routines-Based Intervention

RDA Results-Driven Accountability

RR Reevaluation Report

RS Related Services

RSA Rehabilitation Services Administration

RtI Response to Intervention

RtII Response to Instruction and Intervention

SA I Self-Assessment

SAS Standards Aligned System

SaS Supplementary Aids and Services

SB Spina Bifida

SBAP School Based Access Program

SBBH School Based Behavioral Health

SDI Specially Designed Instruction

SE or SpEd Special Education

SEA State Educational Agency

SEAP Special Education Advisory Panel

Section 504 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

SED Serious Emotional Disturbance

SEL Social Emotional Learning

SES Supplemental Education Services

SI Sensory Integration

SICC State Interagency Coordinating Council

SLD Specific Learning Disability

SLI Speech/Language Impairment

SLP Speech/Language Pathologist

SSA Social Security Administration

SSDI Social Security Disability Insurance/Income

SSI Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Insurance

STF State Task Force

STL Short-Term Loan

SWPBS Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports

TBI Traumatic Brain Injury

TDD Telecommunication Device for the Deaf

TS Tourette Syndrome

TSS Therapeutic Staff Support

UDL Universal Design for Learning

USDOE United States Department of Education

VI Visual Impairment

Voc Ed Vocational Education

VR Vocational Rehabilitation

WIOA Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act

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