Acronyms

1:1 - Assignment of an adult, typically a paraeducator, to assist a specific student

504 - Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 

ABA - Applied Behavior Analysis

AAPC - Adjusted Average Per Pupil Cost

ACR - Administrative Codes and Registers

ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act

ADD - Attention Deficit Disorder

ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

ALE - Alternative Learning Environment or Alternative Learning Experiences (instruction characterized by learning activities that occur away from the regular public school classroom setting) 

APR - Annual Performance Report 

ASD - Autism Spectrum Disorder which refers to a range of conditions characterized by challenges in repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication as well as unique strengths and differences (the term "spectrum" reflects the wide variation in challenges and strengths displayed by each person with autism) https://www.unl.edu/asdnetwork

AT - Assistive Technologies are tools that help a child/student do a developmentally appropriate task that he/she could not otherwise do.  If a child/student has difficulty seeing, hearing, communicating, sitting, standing, moving around, playing or other age-appropriate activities due to the impacts of his/her disability, AT supports progress toward IFSP/IEP goals.  https://atp.nebraska.gov/

AYP - Annual Yearly Progress

BD - Behavior Disorder

BIP - Behavior Intervention Plan (a plan of positive supports to assist a student in discontinuing disruptive and maladaptive behaviors) 

CEIS - Coordinated Early Intervening Services

CFR - Code of Federal Regulations 

CLD - Culturally and Linguistically Diverse

CPS - Child Protective Services

CRA - Criterion Referenced Assessment

CSPD - Comprehensive System of Personnel Development

CWD - Child with a Disability 

DD - Developmental Delay

DHHS - Department of Health and Human Services https://dhhs.ne.gov

EAHCA - Education for All Handicapped Children Act

ECICC - Early Childhood Interagency Coordinating Council

ECSE - Early Childhood Special Education 

ECTC - Early Childhood Training Center https://www.education.ne.gov/oec/early-childhood-training-center/

ED or EBD - Emotional Disturbance or Emotional/Behavioral Disorder which according to IDEA is a condition exhibiting one or more specific emotional and/or behavioral difficulties over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects educational performance

EDN - Early Development Network https://edn.ne.gov

ELL - English Language Learners

ESEA - Elementary and Secondary Education Act

ESU - Educational Service Unit www.esu1.org

ESY - Extended School Year (a provision for a special education student to receive instruction during an ordinary school vacation period)  

FAPE - Free and Appropriate Education (the legal standard describing what school districts must provide to eligible disabled students)

FBA - Functional Behavior Assessment (a process of gathering data to determine why a student is engaging in maladaptive behavior)

FERPA - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html

FTE - Full Time Equivalency 

GMS - Grants Management System 

GR - Getting Ready approach https://edn.ne.gov/cms/getting-ready

ID - Intellectual disability (also known as a cognitive impairment)

IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act https://sites.ed.gov/idea

• • • Part B - The portion of the IDEA regulations which govern special education and related services are provided to school-aged (3-21) children with disabilities

    • Part C - The portion of the IDEA regulations which govern early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities ages birth through age two and their families

IEE - Independent Educational Evaluation (an independent evaluation of a student from a qualified person - parents have the right to ask for an obtain an IEE if they disagree with the results of an assessment conducted by the school district)

IEP - Individualized Education Program (written document which describes the services a school district will provide to an eligible 3-21 year old student with a disability)

IEP Team - The group that makes all decisions regarding educational programming and placement for eligible students with disabilities

IFSP - Individualized Family Service Plan (written document which describes the services provided  to an eligible child with a disability from birth through the child's third birthday)

ILCD - Improving Learning for Children with Disabilities (all schools in Nebraska participate in an ongoing review of their special education program utilizing the ILCD process 92 NAC 51 004.13 which is designed to enhance program improvement that will result in better outcomes for children with disabilities)

LEA - Local Education Agency (typically the public school district of the student's residence)

LEP - Limited English Proficiency (a student who is not fluent in the English language, often because it is not their native language)

LRE - Least Restrictive Environment which is a federal mandate stating that, to the maximum extent possible, students with disabilities are to be educated with their non-disabled peers (the team may place a student in a more restrictive environment if the more restrictive placement is necessary to meet the child's needs or the needs of the child's peers)

MDR - Manifestation Determination Review (a process used prior to imposing exclusionary discipline to determine a student's misbehavior was a manifestation of his/her disability 

MDT - Multidisciplinary Team (individuals from multiple disciplines who meet to evaluate a student's initial or continued eligibility for special education services under the IDEA)

MMH - Mild Mental Handicap

MTSS - Multi Tiered Systems of Support https://nemtss.unl.edu

NAEYC - National Association for the Education of Young Children https://www.naeyc.org

NCLB - No Child Left Behind

NDE - Nebraska Department of Education https://www.education.ne.gov/sped

NCFF - Nebraska Children and Families Foundation https://www.nebraskachildren.org

NRT - Norm Referenced Test

NSTTAC - National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center https://www.nsttac.org

OCR - Office of Civil Rights https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/index.html

OHI - Other Health Impaired (one of the disability categories listed under IDEA where a health condition must be chronic or acute and must result in limited strength, vitality, or alertness to the educational environment)

OSEP - Office of Special Education Programs  (this is the branch of the federal government charged with administering and enforcing IDEA for children birth through 21) https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/osep/index.html

OT - Occupational Therapy/Therapist (a related service provided to assist a child with a disability to perform tasks involving fine motor skills, sensory processing, visual skills, and self-care) 

PBIS - Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (a student behavior management approach based on ABA principles (the 1997 reauthorization of the IDEA specifically requires schools to use positive behavioral supports to assist students with behavioral issues)  https://www.education.ne.gov/npbis

PECS - Picture Exchange Communication System

PLAAFP - Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (a statement in IEP that describes the student’s current abilities, skills, weaknesses and strengths)

PRT - Planning Region Team 

PSP - Primary Service Provider (the model of service delivery for children birth through age five with disabilities in ESU #1)  

PT - Physical Therapy/Therapist (a related service provided to evaluate and diagnose movement dysfunctions and to assist students with disabilities in reaching developmental milestones that require gross motor skills)

PWN - Prior Written Notice (a notice supplied to the other party that includes a description of the action proposed or refused by the school district or by the parent)  

RBI - Routines-Based Interview https://edn.ne.gov/cms/rbi

RtI - Response to Intervention (a multi-tier approach to the early identification and support of students with learning and behavior needs)

RDA - Results Driven Accountability (a federal shift away from looking at compliance to now looking at closing the achievement gap between students with disabilities and their non-disabled peers) https://www.education.ne.gov/sped/nebraska-rda

 SAT - Student Assistance Team (a school team that engages in positive problem solving for student services which is a first step prior to referring a child for an evaluation) 

SEA - State Education Agency (the state department of education

Self-Contained (a classroom where a special education teacher is responsible for the instruction of all academic subjects which is typically separated from general education classrooms but within a neighborhood school)  

SIP - School Improvement Process http://www.education.ne.gov/APAC/SchoolImprovement.html

SLD - Specific Learning Disability (one of the disability categories listed under IDEA which is a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations)  

SLI - Speech and Language Impairment

SLP - Speech Language Pathologist

SRS - Student Record System https://srs.nebraskacloud.org

SWD - Students with Disabilities 

TA - Technical Assistance

Teaching Strategies GOLD - Measurement for Individual Early Childhood Outcomes https://teachingstrategies.com

TIP - Targeted Improvement Plan (as a part of ILCD, each district in Nebraska is required to create a comprehensive, multi-year TIP that contains detailed coherent improvement strategies focused on improving results for children with disabilities) https://www.education.ne.gov/sped/ilcd

USC - United States Code