The Parent's Special Education Dictionary

The PLAAFP is the foundation of any Individualized Education Program (IEP). It describes your child's current abilities, skills, challenges, and strengths. Every goal, accommodation, and service in the IEP must directly tie back to a need identified in the PLAAFP. If a challenge isn't documented in the PLAAFP, the school isn't required to provide support for it.

Under the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), every child with a disability is entitled to a Free Appropriate Public Education. 'Free' means at no cost to the parents. 'Appropriate' means an educational program tailored to the unique needs of the child that is reasonably calculated to enable the child to make meaningful progress.

The LRE mandate requires that children with disabilities be educated with children who are nondisabled to the maximum extent appropriate. Special classes, separate schooling, or removal from the regular educational environment should only occur if the nature or severity of the disability prevents satisfactory education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services.

Prior Written Notice is a legal document the school must provide whenever they propose to initiate or change, or refuse to initiate or change, the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of your child, or the provision of FAPE. It must contain the specific reason why the school is making or refusing the change.

The IDEA is the federal law that guarantees FAPE to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation and ensures special education and related services to those children. It governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services.

A BIP is a formal plan that teaches and rewards positive behaviors while aiming to prevent or stop problem behaviors. It is developed based on the results of a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA). A BIP focuses on understanding *why* the behavior happens and replacing it with a more appropriate skill.

An FBA is a process for identifying problem behaviors and developing interventions to improve or eliminate those behaviors. An FBA seeks to figure out the 'function' or purpose of a child's behavior (e.g., escaping a hard task, seeking attention, sensory overload) so an appropriate BIP can be created.

ESY services are special education and related services that are provided to a child with a disability beyond the normal school year in accordance with the child's IEP, and at no cost to the parents. ESY is generally determined by evaluating if the child will experience significant regression of skills during the summer break.

An MDR is a meeting held within 10 school days of any decision to change the placement of a child with a disability because of a violation of a code of student conduct (like suspension for more than 10 days). The team must determine if the conduct was caused by, or had a direct and substantial relationship to, the child's disability, or if it was the direct result of the school's failure to implement the IEP.

An IEP is a written document that is developed for each public school child who is eligible for special education. It is created through a team effort and reviewed at least once a year. It outlines the child's current levels, annual goals, special education supports and services required, and any accommodations or modifications.

SDI is instruction that has been adapted in content, methodology, or delivery to address the unique needs resulting from a child's disability. It is what distinguishes an IEP from a 504 Plan—SDI means someone is teaching your child differently, not just changing the environment.

An IEE is an evaluation conducted by a qualified professional who is not employed by the school district. Parents have the right to request an IEE at public expense (the school pays for it) when they disagree with the school's evaluation. The school must either fund the IEE or file for due process to defend their own evaluation.

Section 504 is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. In K-12 education, it requires schools to provide accommodations so students with disabilities have equal access to education. Unlike an IEP, a 504 Plan does not provide specialized instruction—it removes barriers through modifications and accommodations.

'Stay Put' (also called 'Pendency') is a legal provision that requires the school to maintain a child's current educational placement during any dispute about the IEP (such as a due process hearing or state complaint). The school cannot change services, placement, or supports while the dispute is in process.

Due Process is a formal legal proceeding where a parent and a school district present their case before an impartial hearing officer. It is used to resolve disputes about the identification, evaluation, placement, or provision of FAPE for a student with a disability. It is similar to a court proceeding and often involves attorneys.

The ARD Committee is the Texas-specific term for the IEP team meeting. In most states, this is simply called the 'IEP meeting' or 'IEP team meeting.' The ARD includes parents, teachers, administrators, and specialists who meet to develop, review, and revise the IEP.

RTI is a multi-tiered approach to early identification and support for students with learning and behavior needs. It involves universal screening, targeted interventions of increasing intensity, and frequent progress monitoring. RTI is often used BEFORE an IEP referral, but schools cannot use RTI to delay or deny a special education evaluation if a parent requests one.

MTSS is a broader framework that includes RTI (academics) and PBIS (behavior) under one system. It provides a continuum of supports at three tiers: Tier 1 (universal for all students), Tier 2 (targeted small group), and Tier 3 (intensive individual). Like RTI, MTSS should not be used to delay an IEP evaluation when a parent requests one.

PBIS is a school-wide approach to encouraging positive behavior through clear expectations, teaching social skills, and using data to make decisions. It is the behavioral counterpart to RTI in the MTSS framework. For individual students with IEPs, PBIS principles are applied through the BIP.

FERPA is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. It gives parents the right to access their child's records, request corrections, and control the disclosure of personally identifiable information. Once a student turns 18, these rights transfer to the student.

Transition services are a coordinated set of activities for a student with a disability that promotes movement from school to post-school activities, including post-secondary education, vocational training, employment, adult services, independent living, and community participation. IDEA requires transition planning beginning no later than age 16 (earlier in some states).

Assistive Technology is any item, piece of equipment, or system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a student with a disability. It ranges from low-tech (pencil grips, slant boards) to high-tech (speech-generating devices, text-to-speech software). IDEA requires the IEP team to consider AT for every student.

AAC refers to the communication methods used to supplement or replace speech and writing for individuals who have difficulty producing or understanding spoken language. AAC includes unaided systems (sign language, gestures) and aided systems (picture boards, speech-generating devices, communication apps).

Compensatory education is a remedy available when a school fails to provide the services outlined in a child's IEP. It consists of educational services provided to 'make up for' the services that were denied. The amount and type of compensatory services should be determined by what the child needs to be placed in the position they would have been in had the IEP been implemented.

Behavioral data is the systematic recording of a student's behaviors (frequency, duration, intensity, antecedents, and consequences). This data is collected as part of an FBA and is used to develop and monitor the effectiveness of a BIP. Common methods include ABC data (Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence), frequency counts, and interval recording.