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Edmonds School District

Special Education Terms

Explanations of commonly used words and phrases in the special education program.

 ADA

 Americans with Disabilities Act – Civil rights law that protects people with disabilities from discrimination.

 ASL

 American Sign Language 

 AUT

 Autism

 BIP

 Behavior Intervention Plan

 DB

 Deaf Blindness

 DD

 Developmental Delay

 DDA

 Developmental Disabilities Administration – Public agency that offers various services to qualified individuals with disabilities.

 DHH

 Deaf/Hard of Hearing

 DK

 Developmental Kindergarten

 EBD

 Emotional Behavioral Disabilities 

 ESD

 Edmonds School District #15

 ESY

 Extended School Year Services – ESY is the special education and related services provided to students beyond the regular 180 day school year to maintain a student’s learned skills/behavior, not the teaching of new skills/behaviors. The IEP team decides whether or not the student requires ESY services and the location of these services.

 FAPE

 Free Appropriate Public Education – Legal requirement for school districts to provide free appropriate public education to qualified students with disabilities, regardless of disability.

 IDEA

 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act – Federal law ensuring services to children with disabilities. Governs how states and public agencies provide education to youth with disabilities.

 IEP

 Individual Education Program – Personalized education program for students with disabilities.

 IFSP

 Individual Family Service Plan (0-3 yrs)

 IS

 Intensive Academic Support

 ISES

 Intensive Social Emotional Support

 LRE

 Least Restrictive Environment – Requirement to educate special needs children with children who are not disabled, to the extent appropriate.

 LS

 Learning Support

 OHI

 Other Health Impaired

 OSPI

 Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction – Oversees public education in Washington state.

 OT

 Occupational Therapy

 PT

 Physical Therapy

 SDI

 Specially Designed Instruction – Appropriate instructional adaptations that meet the needs of eligible students.

 SE PTSA

 Special Education Parent Teacher Student Association – Advocacy organization that promotes the improvement of health, welfare, and education of children. 

 SLD

 Specific Learning Disability

 SLH

 Speech, Language, and Hearing

 SLI

 Speech Language Impairment

 SLP

 Speech Language Pathologist

 SPED

 Special Education

 TBI

 Traumatic Brain Injury

 VI

 Visually Impaired

 VOICE

 Vocational Opportunities in Community Experiences (18-21 yrs)