Acronyms

ABA	Applied Behavior Analysis
ADA	Americans With Disabilities Act
ADD	Attention Deficit Disorder
ADHD	Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
ALD	Assistive Listening Device
Appeal	Next step after a hearing officer or appeals panel decision is issued where the party disagrees in whole or in part with the decision
Appeal Panels	Panels of individuals who review certain decisions of hearing officers
APS	Approved Private School
ASD	Autism Spectrum Disorder
ASL	American Sign Language
AT	Assistive Technology
AVTS	Area Vocational Technical School
AYP	Adequate Yearly Progress
BEC	Basic Education Circular
BICS	Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills
BIP	Behavior Intervention Plan
BSE	Bureau of Special Education
CALP	Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency
CAO	Chief Administrative Officer
CART	Computer Aided Realtime Translation
Case Manager	Person who oversees the process of a due-process hearing or mediation and supplies information to the parties
CASSP	Child & Adolescent Service System Program
CAVP	Corrective Action Verification Plan
CBA	Curriculum-Based Assessment
CERC	Corrections Education Records Center
CFR	Code of Federal Regulations
CLD	Cultural and Linguistic Diversity
COP	Communities of Practice
Conciliation	Friendly settlement of a dispute by the parties without the intervention of a third party
CRP	Career and Technical Education Center
CTC	Call Resolution Process
Decision	The legal document issued by the hearing officer or appeals panel regarding a child's educational program
DIBELS	Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills
DPW	Department of Public Welfare
Due Process	A legal proceeding presided over by a hearing officer who makes determinations about a child's educational program
ED	Emotional Disturbance
EI	Early Intervention
EIPA	Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment
EITA	Early Intervention Technical Assistance
ELC	Education Law Center
ELL	English Language Learners
EPSDT	Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment
ER	Evaluation Report
ESL	English as a Second Language
ESY	Extended School Year
Ex parte communication	Communication with the hearing officer about substantive aspects of a due process proceeding outside the presence of the opposing side
FAPE	Free Appropriate Public Education
FBA	Functional Behavioral Assessment
FERPA	Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
Hearing Officer	An individual knowledgeable about special education and law who presides over a due process hearing and issues a decision
Gifted Individual Education Plan	An educational plan that is curtailed to meet the unique needs of a gifted student. It is developed through a GIEP team (school board, tteachers, support staff, advocates and parents) and formulated based on the multidiciplinary evaluation and observational input of the GIEP team
Gifted Multidisciplinary Evaluation	A systematic process of testing, assessment, and other evaluative processes used by a team to develop a recommendation about whether or not a student is gifted or needs gifted education
IAES	Interim Alternative Educational Setting
ICC	Interagency Coordinating Council
IDEA	Individuals With Disabilities Education Act
IEE	Independent Educational Evaluation
IEP	Individualized Education Program
IEP Facilitation	Neutral third party assisting in facilitating communication and the successful drafting of an IEP for the student
IFSP	Individualized Family Service Plan
IGDI	Individual Growth and Development Indicators
IU	Intermediate Unit
LEA	Local Educational Agency
LEP	Limited English Proficiency
LICC	Local Interagency Coordinating Council
LRE	Least Restrictive Environment
LRS	Lawyer Referral Service
LTCC	Local Transition Coordinating Council
LTF	Local Task Force
MA	Medical Assistance
MAWA	Mutually Agreed Upon Written Arrangement
MD	Multiple Disabilities
MDT	Multidisciplinary Team
Mediation	Intervening between conflicting positions to encourage communication and promote reconciliation, compromise or settlement of disputes
Mediator	A neutral third party trained to facilitate communication between conflicting parties to promote non-adversarial resolution of disputes
MH/MR	Mental Health/Mental Retardation
MOU	Memorandum of Understanding
MR/DD	Mental Retardation/Developmental Delay
NCLB	No Child Left Behind
NOREP	Notice of Recommended Educational Placement
O & M	Orientation and Mobility
OCD	Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
OCR	Office for Civil Rights
OCDEL	Office of Child Development and Early Learning
OCR	Office for Civil Rights
ODD	Oppositional Defiant Disorder
ODR	Office for Dispute Resolution
OHI	Other Health Impairment
OI	Orthopedic Impairment
OMR	Office of Mental Retardation
OSEP	Office of Special Education Programs
OT	Occupational Therapy
OVR	Office of Vocational Rehabilitation
PASA	Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment
PaTTAN	Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network
PDE	Pennsylvania Department of Education
PDD	Pervasive Developmental Disorder
PDD-NOS	Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified
PDE	Pennsylvania Department of Education
PIN	Parents Involved Network
PSSA	Pennsylvania System of School Assessment
PT	Physical Therapy
PTE	Permission to Evaluate
Pro Se Parent	A parent who appears at a due process hearing without an attorney
PVAAS	Pennsylvania Value Added Assessment System
RAST	Regional Assessment and Support Team
RtI	Response to Intervention
SAS	Standards Aligned Systems
SBBH	School Based Behavioral Health
SDI	Specially Designed Instruction
SEA	State Educational Agency
SEAP	Special Education Advisory Panel
SES	Supplemental Education Services
SICC	State Interagency Coordinating Council
SLD	Specific Learning Disability
STL	Short-Term Loan
Solutions Panel	Informal process of settling disagreements in which two trained individuals a parent and an educator assist participants in reaching an agreement
SWPBS	School wide Positive Behavior Supports
TBI	Traumatic Brain Injury
TDD	Telecommunication Device for the Deaf
TSS	Therapeutic Staff Support
TTY	Teletypewriter
UDL	Universal Design for Learning
USDE	Unites States Department of Education
VI	Visual Impairment