Special Education Terms and Acronyms under IDEA

IDEA Terms and Acronyms Defined

In the legal mandates of IDEA, there are a list of terms and acronyms including IDEA that need to be defined and demystified for the regular layperson. Below are the terms and the acronyms that will make IEP meetings a breeze for all of the stakeholders:

ADA – American with Disabilities Act

ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

ADD – Attention Deficit Disorder

BD – Behavioral Disorder

BIP – Behavioral Intervention Plan based on the FBA

EDB – Emotional Behavioral Disorder

Case Law – court developed laws addressing special education issues

Competency – the ability to achieve a designated level of academic or behavioral performance

Consent – parent permission for schools to evaluate students for special education services

Disability – impairments that affect school performance defined under IDEA

EAHCA – Education for All Handicapped Children Act, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

LRE – Least restrictive environment which is known as mainstreaming special

LD – Learning disabled per diagnostic assessments

MR – Mentally retarded as medically diagnosed

Reasonable Accommodation or Modification – providing reasonable program or curriculum modifications for students with IEPs or 504 plans

Section 504 – Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that provides reasonable accommodations for students with defined disabilities

Transition services – a part of the IEP that provides activities and educational instruction for students transitioning into higher education or other defined settings under IDEA (Rothstein, L.F. (2000) pp 327-330.

This list is not a comprehensive list of the myriad of terms used in IDEA law and special education school communities, but it’s a start for those navigating the journey of special education services for students.