© Forte Law Group, November 2017 Comprehensive Dictionary of Special Education Acronyms.
By Jeffrey L. Forte, Connecticut Special Education Lawyer and Certified Child Advocate
A
AAC Augmentative/Alternative Communication
ABA Applied Behavior Analysis
ABC Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence
ABS Adaptive Behavior Scale
ADA Americans with Disabilities Act
ADD Attention Deficit Disorder
ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
ADLs Activities of Daily Living
ADR Alternative Dispute Resolution
AE Age Equivalent
AEM Accessible Educational Materials
AIM Accessible Instructional Materials
ALD Assistive Listening Device
AP Advanced Placement
APE Adapted Physical Education
APR Annual Performance Report
APS Approve Private School
AS Asperger’s Syndrome or Autism Spectrum
ASD Autism Spectrum Disorder
ASL American Sign Language
AT Assistive Technology
AYP Adequate Yearly Progress
B
BASC Behavior Rating Scale for Children (test)
BCaBA Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst
BCBA Board Certified Behavior Analyst
BCBA-D Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral
BD Behavior Disorder
BEC Basic Education Calendar
BESB Connecticut Bureau of Education and Services for the Blind
BIP Behavioral Intervention Plan
BOE Board of Education
BYOD Bring Your Own Device
C
CA Chronological Age
CAP Corrective Action Plan
CAPD Central Auditory Processing Disorder
CAPT Connecticut Academic Performance Test
CBA Curriculum-Based Assessment
CBA Child Development Association
CC Closed Captioning
CCSS Common Core State Standards
CDC Center for Disease Control and Prevention
CDT Classroom Diagnostic Tools
CF Cystic Fibrosis
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
CGA Connecticut General Assembly
CGS Connecticut General Statutes
CMT Connecticut Mastery Test
COP Community of Practice
COPAA Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates
CP Cerebral Palsy
CPAC Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center
CSDE Connecticut State Department of Education
CST Child Study Team
CTAA Connecticut Alternative Assessment
CTAPP Connecticut Tech Act Project
CTEDTECH Connecticut Commission for Educational Technology
D
DB Deaf/Blind
DCF Department of Children and Families
DD Developmental Disability
DDS Department of Developmental Services
DIS Designated Instruction and Services
DMHAS Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services
DOE Department of Education
DORS Connecticut Department of Rehabilitation Services
DS Down Syndrome
DSM-V Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
DSS Department of Social Services
E
EBR Educational Benefit Review
ECE Early Childhood Education
ECSE Early Childhood Special Education
ED Emotional Disability
ED U.S. Department of Education
EDGAR Education Department General Administrative Regulations
EHA Education of the Handicapped Act (now IDEA)
EHDI Early Hearing Detection and Intervention
EI Early Intervention
EIS Early Intervention Services
ELL English Language Learner (previously ESL)
ER Evaluation Report
ESD Extended School Day
ESQ Esquire/Attorney/Lawyer
ESSA Every Student Succeeds Act
ESY Extended School Year
ETV Educational and Training Voucher
EVT Expressive Vocabulary Test
F
FAPE Free Appropriate Public Education
FAS Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
FC Facilitated Communication
FERPA Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
FBA Functional Behavioral Assessment
FLG Forte Law Group, a Special Education & Child Advocacy Law Firm (that’s us!)
FOIA Freedom of Information Act
G
GAD Guardian Ad Litem
GE General Education or Grade Equivalent
GED General Equivalency Diploma
GLE Grade Level Expectations
GORT-4 Gray Oral Reading Test, 4th Edition
GT Gifted and Talented
H
HI Hearing Impaired
HO Hearing Officer
HOH Hard of Hearing
HQT Highly Qualified Teacher
I
IA Instructional Assistant
ID Intellectual Disability (to replace MR)
IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
IDEIA Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004)
IEE Independent Educational Evaluation
IEP Individualized Education Program
IFC Intensive Foster Care
IFSP Individualized Family Service Plan
IHE Institute of Higher Education
IQ Intelligence Quotient
ITP Individual Transition Plan
J
JD Judicial District or Juris Doctorate
JF Jeffrey Forte, Special Education Lawyer & Certified Child Advocate (that’s me!)
K
K Kindergarten
L
LD Learning Disability
LEA Local Education Agency
LEP Limited English Proficient
LGBT Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
LRE Least Restrictive Environment
M
MA Medical Assistance or Mental Age
MD Multiple Disabilities or Muscular Dystrophy
MDR Manifestation Determination Review
MDT Multi-Disciplinary Team
MID Mild Intellectual Disability
MH Multiple Handicapped
MOU Memorandum of Understanding
MR Mental Retardation (replaced by ID)
MS Multiple Sclerosis
N
NCLB No Child Left Behind Act (Elementary and Secondary Education Act)
NGSS Next Generation Science Standards Test
NIMAS National Institute of Mental Health
NPA Nonpublic Agency
NPS Nonpublic School (private)
O
O&M Orientation and Mobility
OAH Office of Administrative Hearings
OEC Connecticut Office of Early Childhood
OCA Office of the Child Advocate
OCD Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
OCR Office of Civil Rights
OCS On-Campus Suspension
ODD Oppositional Defiant Disorder
OHI Other Health Impaired
OI Orthopedically Impaired
OT Occupational Therapy
P
P&A Protection & Advocacy
PALS Peer-Assisted Learning System
Para Paraprofessional
PASS Plan for Achieving Self-Support
PBS Positive Behavioral Supports
PBIS Positive Behavior Interventions and Support
PBSP Positive Behavior Support Plan
PCA Personal Care Assistant
PD Physical Disability
PDD Pervasive Developmental Disorder
PEAC Performance Evaluation Advisory Council
PEI Spanish acronym for IEP (Plan Educativo Individualizado)
PL Public Law
PLP Present Level of Performance
PLEP Present Level of Education Performance
POA Power of Attorney
PP Paraprofessional
PPT Planning Placement Team
PQA Program Quality Assistance
Pre-K Pre-Kindergarten
PS Preschool or Private School
PSN Procedural Safeguards Notice
PT Physical Therapy
PTA Parent-Teacher Association
PTI Parent Training and Information Center
PTSD Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
PWN Prior Written Notice
Q
R
RAD Reactive Attachment Disorder
RBT Registered Behavior Technician
RFP Request for Proposals
RR Re-evaluation Report
RS Related Services
RSP Resource Specialist Program
RTI Response to Intervention
S
SA Self-Assessment
SaS Supplementary Aides and Services
SAT Scholastic Assessment/Aptitude Test
SB Spina Bifida
SBAC Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium
SBBH School Based Behavioral Health
SCTG School Climate Transformation Grant
SE Special Education
SEA State Education Agency
Sec 504 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
SERC State Education Resource Center of Connecticut
SCC Self-contained Classroom
SDC Special Day Class
SDE State Department of Education
SDI Specifically Designed Instruction
SED Serious Emotional Disability
SEPTA Special Education Parent Teacher Association
SERC State Education Resource Center
SESP Special Education Surrogate Parent
SH Severely Handicapped
SI Sensory Integration
SIB Self-Injurious Behavior
SLD Specific Learning Disability
SLI Speech/Language Impaired
SLP Speech Language Pathologist
SPED Special Education
SPDG State Personnel Development Grant
SPOA Specific Power of Attorney
SRBI Scientific Research-Based Interventions
SSDI Social Security Disability Income
SS Scaled Score
SSI Supplemental Security Income
SSIP State Systemic Improvement Plan
SST Student Study Team
STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
STOs Short-Term Objectives
SY School Year
T
TAG Talented and Gifted
TDD Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf
TBI Traumatic Brain Injury
TP Transition Planning
TS Tourette Syndrome
TScore
TSS Therapeutic Staff Support
T-TA Training and Technical Assistance
TTY Teletypewriter (phone system for the Deaf)
U
UDL Universal Design for Learning
U.S.C. United States Code
V
VI Visually Impaired/Visual Impairment
Voc Ed Vocational Education
VR Visiting Resource or Vocational Education
W
WAIS Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale
WIAT Weschler Individual Achievement Test
WISC-IV Weschler Intelligence Scale for Childre, 4th Edition
WPN Written Prior Notice
X
X-Axis In Mathematics, the horizontal axis
Y
Y-Axis in Mathematics, the vertical axis
Z
Z-Score
© Forte Law Group, November 2017
For more information, contact Forte Law Group at (203) 257-7999.