GLOSSERY OF TERMS

Accommodations – Practices and procedures that allow students with disabilities to learn, have access to, and be tested on the same curriculum as students without disabilities. Accommodations do not change what the student is expected to learn but rather how he or she learns the curriculum. Providing accommodations during instruction and assessment may also promote equal access to the general curriculum.

“Act” or “IDEA” means the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as amended by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 at 20 U.S.C. 1400, Public Law 108-446 of the 108th Congress, December 3, 2004 (IDEA).

Adapted Physical Education– A physical education program developed for students with disabilities who are not able to participate in the regular PE program with accommodations or modifications.

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) – means a measure of annual academic performance

Alternative Education Programs (AEP) – Disciplinary settings for students who have committed an offense of the state law or the student code of conduct.

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) – A civil rights law that protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination and calls for the elimination of barriers in the workplace, schools and other settings.

Anecdotal records - An informal, written record (usually positive in tone), based on the observations of the teacher, of a student's progress and/or activities which occur throughout the day.

Annual Goals – An individualized education program must include a statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals, designed to meet the child’s needs to enable the child to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum; and meet each of the child’s other educational needs that result from the disability.

Assistive technology device - any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability. The term does not include a medical device that is surgically implanted, or the replacement of such device.

Assistive technology service -any service that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device.

The term includes:

(a) The evaluation of the needs of a child with a disability, including a functional evaluation of the child in the child’s customary environment; (b) Purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the acquisition of assistive technology devices by children with disabilities;

(c) Selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, adapting, applying, maintaining, repairing, or replacing assistive technology devices;

(d) Coordinating and using other therapies, interventions, or services with assistive technology devices, such as those associated with existing education and rehabilitation plans and programs;

(e) Training or technical assistance for a child with a disability or, if appropriate, that child’s family; and

(f) Training or technical assistance for professionals (including individuals providing education or rehabilitation services), employers, or other individuals who provide services to, employ, or are otherwise substantially involved in the major life functions of that child.

Average daily membership-the number of children that are counted to generate state funds under the Ohio school foundation funding program.

Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) – A written plan to address behavioral concerns impeding the child’s learning or that of others. It is part of a student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) that includes positive behavioral interventions and supports and other strategies to address the behavior.

Benchmark assessment - a specific statement of what the child should know and be able to do in a specified segment of the year. Benchmarks describe how far the child is expected to progress toward the annual goal and by when. Benchmarks establish expected performance levels that allow for regular checks of progress that coincide with the reporting periods for informing parents of the child’s progress toward achieving the annual goals.

Braille - a tactile system of reading and writing for individuals with visual impairments commonly known as standard English braille.

Chartered nonpublic school - a school chartered by the state board of education that meets the minimum standards for chartered nonpublic schools cited in the “Operating Standards for Ohio’s Elementary and Secondary Schools” (February 2006).

Child Find – State-developed policies and procedures to ensure that all children with disabilities residing in Ohio, and who are in need of special education and related services, are identified, located and evaluated.

Child with a Disability – means a child evaluated as having an intellectual disability (mental retardation), a hearing impairment (including deafness), a speech or language impairment, a visual impairment (including blindness), an emotional disturbance, an orthopedic impairment, autism, traumatic brain injury, an other health impairment, a specific learning disability, deaf-blindness, a developmental delay (for a child between the ages of 3 and 5), or multiple disabilities,

(a) Children aged three through five years who are experiencing developmental delays as measured by appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures, in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development.

(b) Definition of disability terms (for children aged five through twenty-two years) used in this definition of a “child with a disability” are defined as follows:

(i) Autism -a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with “autism” are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences.

(a) Autism does not apply if a child’s educational performance is adversely affected primarily because the child has an emotional disturbance.

(ii) Intellectual disability (mental retardation) means significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

(a) Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning- an intelligence quotient of seventy or below as determined through a measure of cognitive functioning administered by a school psychologist or a qualified psychologist using a test designed for individual administration. Based on a standard error of measurement and clinical judgment, a child may be determined to have significant subaverage general intellectual functioning with an intelligence quotient not to exceed seventy-five.

(b) Deficits in adaptive behavior- deficits in two or more applicable skill areas occurring within the context of the child’s environments and typical of the child’s chronological age peers.

(iii) Deaf-blindness -concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness.

(iv) Deafness- a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

(v) Emotional disturbance- a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:

(a) An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.

(b) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.

(c) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.

(d) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression. (e)(e)A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.

(f) Emotional disturbance includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted.

(vi) Hearing impairment- an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance but that is not included under the definition of deafness in this rule.

(vii) Multiple disabilities-concomitant impairments (such as mental retardation-blindness or mental retardation-orthopedic impairment), the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. “Multiple disabilities” does not include deaf-blindness.

(viii) Orthopedic impairment- a severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by a congenital anomaly, impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis), and impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures).

(ix) Other health impairment-having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that:

(a) Is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia, and Tourette syndrome; and

(b) Adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

(x) Specific learning disability-

(a) General-a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.

(b) Disorders not included. Specific learning disability does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of intellectual disability, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

(xi) Speech or language impairment-a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

(xii) Traumatic brain injury- an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force or by other medical conditions, including but not limited to stroke, anoxia, infectious disease, aneurysm, brain tumors and neurological insults resulting from medical or surgical treatments. The injury results in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment or both, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries, as well as to other medical conditions that result in acquired brain injuries. The injuries result in impairments in one or more areas such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma.

(xiii) Visual impairment (including blindness) -an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

(a) The term visual impairment includes both partial sight and blindness.

(b) The term visual impairment does not include a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes, such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.

Community school - a public school, created in accordance with Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code, that is independent of any school district and part of the state’s program of education.

Consent – means that:

(a) The parent has been fully informed of all information relevant to

the activity for which consent is sought, in the parent’s native language, or other mode of communication;

(b) The parent understands and agrees in writing to the carrying out of the activity for which the parent’s consent is sought, and the consent describes that activity and lists the records (if any) that will be released and to whom; and

(i) The parent understands that the granting of consent is voluntary on the part of the parent and may be revoked at any time.

(ii) If a parent revokes consent, that revocation is not retroactive (i.e., it does not negate an action that has occurred after the consent was given and before the consent was revoked).

Core academic subjects - English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography. This term does not refer to “Ohio Core Curriculum.”

County board of developmental disabilities (county board of DD) - a county board of developmental disabilities as provided by section 5126.02 of the Revised Code.

Day - calendar day unless otherwise indicated as business day or school day.

(a) Business day means Monday through Friday, except for federal and state holidays (unless holidays are specifically included in the designation of business day).

(b) School day - any day, including a partial day that children are in attendance at school for instructional purposes. School day has the same meaning for all children in school, including children with and without disabilities.

Destruction - physical destruction or removal of personal identifiers from information so that the information is no longer personally identifiable.

Due process - an impartial due process hearing is a formal hearing that is held to resolve disagreements. These disagreements may be about a student’s evaluation, IEP services, educational placement (setting) or anything having to do with providing a free and appropriate public education to a student. The hearing may include teachers, or other school staff related to a student’s special education.

Education records - those records that are directly related to a student and are maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution.

Equipment -refers to:

(a) Machinery, utilities, and built-in equipment, and any necessary enclosures or structures to house the machinery, utilities, or equipment; and

(b) All other items necessary for the functioning of a particular facility as a facility for the provision of educational services, including items such as instructional equipment and necessary furniture; printed, published, and audio-visual instructional materials; telecommunications, sensory, and other technological aids and devices; and books, periodicals, documents, and other related materials.

Evaluation - a process used to gather information that will help determine whether a student is a child with a disability and the nature and extent of the special education and related services that the child needs.

(a) Initial Evaluation team - the parents and a group of qualified professionals.

(b) Evaluation team for a child suspected of having a specific learning disability - the parents and a group of qualified professionals, which must include:

(i) The child’s regular teacher; or

(ii) If the child does not have a regular education teacher, a regular classroom teacher qualified to teach a child of the child’s age; or

(iii) For a child of less than school-age, an individual qualified by the Ohio Department of Education to teach a child of the child’s age; and

(iv) At least one person qualified to conduct individual diagnostic examinations of children, such as a school psychologist, speech-language pathologist, or remedial teacher.

(c) Re-evaluation team - the IEP team and other qualified professionals.

Eligibility – The determination that a student is a “child with a disability” as defined by IDEA; and as a result of the disability, the child needs special education services to benefit from education.

English Learner – Children who do not speak English in the home and who are in the process of learning English, also referred to as Limited English Proficient students (LEP). The No Child Left Behind Act provides funding to states for the development of better assessments (tests) and accommodations for LEP students in the areas of language acquisition and academic achievement.

Extended School Year Services (ESY) – An individualized educational program (IEP) for children with disabilities that is provided beyond the regular school year. The need for ESY services must be determined on an individual basis by the child's IEP team. A child is eligible for ESY services when the child has exhibited, or reasonably may be expected to exhibit, severe or substantial regression in critical skill area(s) that cannot be recouped within a reasonable period of time.

Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA) – The federal law that protects the confidentiality of a student’s records in all public schools and local education agencies.

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) – Special education and related services that have been provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction and without charge; meet the standards of the Ohio Department of Education (ODE); include an appropriate preschool, elementary school, or secondary school education in the State involved; and are provided in conformity with the individualized education program (IEP).

General curriculum - refers to the same curriculum that is used with children without disabilities.

General Education Curriculum - a learning environment that provides a community of students with the opportunity to acquire skills and knowledge necessary to meet state and local performance objectives.

Help Me Grow - a system of early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities which are provided, in accordance with Part C of the IDEA, federal regulations, state law, and state rules, by the lead agency selected by the governor of the state.

Highly Qualified Teachers – Under the No Child Left Behind Act and IDEA 2004, all teachers of core academic subjects must 1) hold at least a bachelor’s degree, 2) have full state certification, and 3) demonstrate knowledge in the core academic subjects they teach. The law emphasizes development and recruitment of “highly qualified teachers,” especially in low-performing and disadvantaged schools and in special education.

Homeless children - has the meaning given the term homeless children and youths in Section 725 (42 U.S.C. 11434a) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) – An evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the school district responsible for the education of the child being evaluated.

Individualized Education Program (IEP) – A written statement for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed and revised by the IEP team, of which parents are active members. The IEP includes the student's present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, participation in State and district-wide assessments, transition services, annual goals, special factors, special education, related services, supplementary aids and services, extended school year services, and least restrictive environment.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) – The federal law that grants children with disabilities the right to receive “a free appropriate public education” (FAPE). IDEA is important because it provides the minimum requirements each state must meet in order to receive federal special education funds. The law was reauthorized in 2004 and is referred to as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) of 2004. IDEA and IDEIA are used interchangeably when referring to the same law.

Itinerant services - services provided by intervention specialists or related services personnel which occur in the setting where the child, the child and parent(s), or the child and caregiver are located as opposed to services provided at a centralized location

No terms at this time

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) – To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are not disabled, and special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability of a child is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

Manifestation Determination Review (MDR) – Within ten school days of any decision to change the placement of a child with a disability due to a violation of the code of conduct, the IEP team must meet and conduct a Manifestation Determination Review (MDR). When conducting an MDR, the IEP team must review all relevant information in the child’s file, including the IEP, any teacher observations, and any relevant information provided by the parents. The IEP must answer both of the following questions:

(a)Was the conduct in question caused by, or did it have a direct and substantial relationship to the child’s disability?

(b)Was the conduct in question the direct result of the school district’s failure to implement the Individualized Education Program (IEP)?Measurable Annual Goals – IEP goals that a student can reasonably accomplish within a year. The goals must address the student’s involvement and progress in the general curriculum. The goals must be broken down into short-term objectives, or benchmarks, only if a student is taking an alternate assessment. Goals may be academic, address social or behavioral needs, relate to physical needs, or address other educational needs. The IEP must indicate how the goals will be measured to show if the student is making progress toward them.

Mediation - voluntary process for settling disputes between two parties. For mediation to occur both parties must agree to settle or resolve their concerns. The mediation process is led by a trained third party mediator, who helps the parties voice their concerns and reach a solution that is acceptable to both.

Native language:

(a) When used with respect to an individual who is limited English proficient, “native language” means the following:

(i) The language normally used by that individual, or, in the case of a child, the language normally used by the parents of the child.

(ii) In all direct contact with a child (including evaluation of the child), the language normally used by the child in the home or learning environment.

(iii) For an individual with deafness or blindness, or for an individual with no written language, the mode of communication is that normally used by the individual (such as sign language, braille, or oral communication).

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) – education reform law designed to hold schools accountable for the performance of students who are struggling to learn. It is built on four principles:

(a)Increase accountability for student performance.

(b)Focus on what works based on scientific research.

(c)Empower parents and expand parental involvement.

(d)Increase local control and flexibility.

Non-chartered nonpublic school - a school that is not chartered or seeking a charter from the state board of education because of truly held religious beliefs. Such school shall annually certify in a report to the parents of its pupils that the school meets Ohio minimum standards for non-chartered, non-tax supported schools cited in the “Operating Standards for Ohio’s Elementary and Secondary Schools”

Nonpublic school - a private school which is recognized by the Ohio department of education as either a chartered school or a non-chartered school.

Notice of Procedural Safeguards -written document containing a full explanation of the procedural safeguards, written in the native language of the parents (unless it clearly is not feasible to do so) and written in an easily understandable manner, available under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and under regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Education.

Objective - a smaller, more manageable learning task that a child must master as a step toward achieving an annual goal. Objectives break the skills described in the measurable annual goal into discrete components.

Other educational agency - a joint vocational school district; department; division; bureau; office; institution; board; commission; committee; authority; or other state or local agency, other than a school district or an agency administered by the department of developmental disabilities, that provides or seeks to provide special education or related services to children with disabilities.

Paraprofessional services - include services provided by school, county board of DD, and other educational agency employees who are adequately trained to assist in the provision of special education and related services to children with disabilities. Paraprofessionals work under the supervision of teachers, intervention specialists, and/or related service providers. Other titles used to identify these service providers include teacher assistants, educational aides, school psychology aides, occupational therapy assistants, physical therapist assistants, and job coaches.

Placement – Placement refers to the educational program on the continuum of placements (regular classes, special classes, special schools, homebound instruction, or instruction in hospitals and institutions). Placement does not refer to the specific location or site and must be based on the child’s IEP and determined by the IEP Team.

Parent means:

(a) A biological or adoptive parent of a child but not a foster parent of a child;

(b) A guardian generally authorized to act as the child’s parent, or authorized to make educational decisions for the child (but not the state if the child is a ward of the state);

(c) An individual acting in the place of a biological or adoptive parent (including a grandparent, stepparent, or other relative) with whom the child lives, or an individual who is legally responsible for the child’s welfare;

(d) A surrogate parent who has been appointed

Parent mentor - a parent of a child with a disability employed by a school district to assist education personnel and families by providing training, support, and information services.

Parentally placed nonpublic school children with disabilities - children with disabilities enrolled by their parents in nonpublic, including religious, schools or facilities that meet the definition of elementary school or secondary school.

Participating agency - any agency or institution that collects, maintains, or uses personally identifiable information, or from which information is obtained.

Personally identifiable - information that contains:

(a) The name of the child, the child’s parent, or other family member;

(b) The address of the child;

(c) A personal identifier, such as the child’s social security number or student number; or

(d) A list of personal characteristics or other information that would make it possible to identify the child with reasonable certainty

Present Levels of performance – A statement in the individualized education program (IEP) of the child's present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, including how the child's disability affects the child's involvement and progress in the general education curriculum.

Prior Written Notice – Must be given (in writing) to the parents of the child whenever the school district proposes to initiate or change; or refuses to initiate or change, the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child, or the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to the child.

Public agency - includes the school districts, county boards of developmental disabilities, other educational agencies, community schools and any other political subdivisions of the state that are responsible for providing education to children with disabilities.

Qualified personnel - personnel who have met Ohio department of education-approved or Ohio department of education-recognized certification, licensing, or other comparable requirements that apply to the area in which the individuals are providing special education or related services.

Re-evaluation – Must be conducted if the local educational agency (LEA) determines that the educational or related services needs, including improved academic achievement and functional performance, of the child warrant a reevaluation; or if the child's parents or teacher requests a reevaluation. It must be conducted at least once every 3 years, unless the parent and the local educational agency (LEA) agree that a reevaluation is unnecessary. It must not occur more frequently than once a year unless the parent and the LEA agree otherwise.

Referral – the date the public school district or community school receives a parent’s, school district’s, or other educational agency’s request for an initial evaluation or reevaluation.

Related Services – transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education

(a)Related services include:

(i)speech-language pathology and audiology services,

(ii)interpreting services,

(iii)psychological services,

(iv)physical and occupational therapy,

(v)recreation, including therapeutic recreation,

(vi)early identification and assessment of disabilities in children

(vii)social work services,

(viii)school nurse services,

(ix)counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, and medical services, except that such medical services for diagnostic and evaluation purposes.

(x)The term does not include a medical device that is surgically implanted, the optimization of that device’s functioning, or the replacement of such device.

School district of residence - the school district in which the child’s parents reside.

Scientifically Based Research – Federal law requires that educators must use instructional methods that have been proven effective through “scientifically based research.” These are teaching methods that have been carefully studied, documented, and proven to have worked for other students, based on extensive data collection. Under No Child Left Behind, it is defined as “research that involves the application of rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain reliable and valid knowledge relevant to education activities and programs.”

Services plan - a written statement that describes the special education and related services the school district will provide to a parentally placed child with a disability enrolled in a nonpublic school who has been designated to receive services, including the location of the services and any transportation necessary.

Special Education – Specially designed instruction, at no cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability, including instruction conducted in the classroom, in the home, in hospitals and institutions, and in other settings; and instruction in physical education.

Specially Designed Instruction – adapting the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction, as appropriate, to the needs of a child with a disability. Specially designed instruction should ensure that the child has access to the general curriculum so that he or she can meet the educational standards that apply to all children.

Supplementary Aids and Services – Aids, services, and other supports that are provided in regular education classes or other education-related settings, and in extracurricular and nonacademic settings, to enable children with disabilities to be educated with nondisabled children to the maximum extent appropriate.

Transition Services – A coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability that includes moving from school to post-school activities, including postsecondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation. Transition services are based on the individual child’s strengths, preferences, and interests.

Universal Design – A way of designing products and services so that they can be used by people with the widest range of abilities.

No terms at this time

Ward of the State – A child who, as determined by the State where the child resides, is a foster child, is a ward of the State, or is in the custody of a public child welfare agency.

No terms at this time

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