The Acronym Alphabet
This 4-letter acronym stands for the primary federal special education law that guarantees FAPE.
What is IDEA?
Dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia all fall under this specific IDEA category.
What is Specific Learning Disability (SLD)?
True or False: An accommodation changes what a student is expected to learn.
What is False? (Accommodations change HOW learning happens, not WHAT is taught).
This legal requirement ensures students with disabilities are educated with non-disabled peers to the greatest extent appropriate.
What is LRE (Least Restrictive Environment)?
Cerebral palsy, spina bifida, or amputations impacting physical mobility qualify under this category.
What is Orthopedic Impairment?
What FAPE stands for in special education law.
What is Free Appropriate Public Education?
Severe concussions or head injuries impacting memory and executive functioning fall under this category.
What is Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)?
Grading a student on 2 key concepts rather than all 10 concepts required by the state curriculum standards.
What is a Modification?
Placing a student with special needs in a separate, self-contained classroom full-time without trying general ed supports first violates this IDEA principle.
What is Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)?
Stuttering, impaired articulation, or language processing deficits that affect classroom communication fall under this category.
What is Speech or Language Impairment?
This binding document outlines individualized goals, services, and accommodations for a qualified student.
What is an IEP (Individualized Education Program)?
Social communication challenges, repetitive behaviors, and sensory processing differences characterize this category.
What is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?
Providing graphic organizers or skeletal notes during lectures helps support this area of skill deficit.
What is Note-Taking / Executive Functioning / Reading Comprehension?
IDEA guarantees rights for students with disabilities from birth up to this age.
What is age 21 (or 22, depending on state implementation)?
A student exhibiting persistent unhappiness, depression, or an inability to build satisfactory interpersonal relationships at school may qualify under this category.
What is Emotional Disturbance (ED)?
This civil rights law protects individuals from discrimination in federally funded programs and covers life accommodations.
What is Section 504?
ADHD is most commonly served under this category when it adversely impacts academic performance.
What is Other Health Impairment (OHI)?
Educating students with special needs alongside general education peers for all or most of the school day.
What is Inclusion?
You are a general education teacher co-planning with a special ed teacher. Who is legally responsible for implementing the accommodations in your classroom?
What is BOTH teachers?
Epilepsy, diabetes, and heart conditions that adversely affect academic performance are classified under this category.
What is Other Health Impairment (OHI)?
The framework designed to give all learners equal opportunities by providing multiple ways of representation, expression, and engagement.
What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?
Significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and adaptive daily behavior define this category.
What is an Intellectual Disability (ID)?
Jordan has Autism and experiences sensory overload during loud group work. What is the least restrictive support to try before moving him to a self-contained room?
What is providing noise-canceling headphones / a quiet break space in the room / scheduled sensory breaks?
Under IDEA, a comprehensive re-evaluation of a student's special education eligibility must occur at least every _____ years.
What is 3 years?
Concomitant impairments (such as intellectual disability paired with blindness) where needs cannot be accommodated in a program for just one disability fall under this category.
What is Multiple Disabilities?