Alphabet Soup (Acronyms)
This core document contains a student’s special education goals, services, and accommodations, and must be updated every year.
What is an IEP? (Individualized Education Program)
In the acronym FAPE, the "F" stands for "Free" and the "P" stands for "Public." This is what the "A" stands for.
What is Appropriate?
A teacher tells you, "I don't think this kid needs extra time on tests, so I'm not doing it." This is the director's correct response regarding whether IEP accommodations are optional.
What is "No, they are legally mandatory"?
This developmental disability often impacts a student's social communication, eye contact, and repetitive behaviors.
What is Autism?
This term means changing how a student accesses the work—like giving them a quiet room or extra time—without lowering the actual grading standards.
What is an accommodation?
This rule states that students with disabilities should be educated in the general education classroom with their peers as much as possible.
What is the LRE? (Least Restrictive Environment)
Before a school can pull a student out of class to do a formal special education testing evaluation, they must always get this from a parent.
What is written consent? (Or permission)
At an IEP meeting, the director usually sits at the table fulfilling this specific role, meaning they have the authority to commit school resources.
Who is the LEA Representative? (Accept "District Representative" or "Admin Representative")
Because ADHD is not listed as its own separate category under the law, students with severe ADHD usually qualify under this 3-word category.
What is Other Health Impairment? (Accept "OHI")
This term means changing what the student is learning—like giving a 5th grader a 2nd-grade reading assignment.
What is a modification?
This acronym refers to a formal plan designed to give a student specific rewards or interventions to reduce problem behaviors in class.
What is a BIP? (Behavior Intervention Plan)
This mandatory meeting must happen within 10 days of a student with an IEP being suspended, to decide if their behavior was caused by their disability.
What is a Manifestation Determination Review? (Accept "MDR" or "Manifestation meeting")
A general education teacher complains that a student with an IEP is struggling in their room. This is the first person the director should instruct the teacher to collaborate with.
Who is the Special Education Teacher? (Or Case Manager)
This is the specific category for students who have a struggle with reading, writing, or math, despite having a normal, average intelligence.
What is a Specific Learning Disability? (Accept "SLD" or "Dyslexia")
Preferential seating, graphic organizers, and copy of teacher notes are all examples of these.
What are accommodations?
Often confused with an IEP, this plan provides accommodations (like extra time) to students with medical or mental health needs, but does not provide specialized instruction.
What is a 504 Plan?
Every individual student's IEP must be formally reviewed and rewritten by the team at least this many times per year.
What is once?
A parent drops off a note saying, "I want my child tested for special education right now." Legally, the school cannot ignore this; they must provide a formal response within a strict deadline.
What is a written request for evaluation?
This category is used for students who exhibit severe, long-term emotional or behavioral issues that deeply impact their ability to learn or build relationships.
What is an Emotional Disturbance? (Or Emotional Behavioral Disability)
When an IEP team decides a student needs an alternative curriculum that focuses on life skills rather than grade-level academic standards, they are using this type of instructional change.
What is a modification?
This is the legal obligation of a school district to actively look for, find, and evaluate any child who might have a disability.
What is Child Find?
This is the magic number of total suspension days in a school year where a director must pause, because hitting it counts as a legal "change of placement."
What is 10 days?
If a director disagrees with a decision made by the rest of the IEP team, they cannot simply override it, because decisions must be made by this.
What is team consensus? (Or the IEP committee as a whole)
To qualify under this category, a student must show significant limitations both in general intellectual functioning (IQ) and in everyday adaptive behaviors, like communication and self-care.
What is an Intellectual Disability? (Accept "ID")
This teaching strategy involves breaking a classroom into small groups, using co-teaching, or offering visual aids so all students can learn without needing special retrofitted tools.
What is Universal Design for Learning? (Accept "UDL" or "Differentiation")