ORELA Special Education (NT602) key terms

The legal right of every eligible student with a disability to a public education program designed to meet their individual needs at no cost to the family, provided in conformity with an individualized education program.

The federal law governing special education that guarantees eligible students a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment, with procedural safeguards, individualized planning, and related services.

The requirement that students with disabilities be educated alongside peers without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate, with removal to separate settings only when supplementary aids and services cannot support success.

A written, legally binding plan developed by a team that documents a student's present levels, measurable annual goals, special education and related services, accommodations, and placement for one school year.

The group legally responsible for developing, reviewing, and revising a student's IEP, typically including parents, a regular education teacher, a special education teacher, a district representative, and the student when appropriate.

The IEP section describing a student's current skills, strengths, and needs using assessment data, which serves as the baseline from which measurable annual goals and services are written.

A required written statement to parents explaining a school's proposal or refusal to initiate or change identification, evaluation, placement, or services, including the reasons and sources used.

The legal protections that give parents rights to notice, consent, access to records, independent evaluation, dispute resolution, and impartial hearings when schools propose or refuse special education actions.

The ongoing legal obligation of states and districts to identify, locate, and evaluate all children who may need special education, including those in private schools, homeless, or wards of the state.

The comprehensive, multidisciplinary assessment process using multiple valid measures to determine whether a student has a disability and needs special education, and to inform goals and services.

A repeat of the full assessment process, required at least every three years unless parents and school agree otherwise, to confirm continued eligibility and update programming needs.

Parental agreement to an evaluation or service in writing after receiving full explanation in their native language, given voluntarily and revocable at any time.

A formal, impartial administrative proceeding where parents and the school present evidence before a hearing officer to resolve disagreements about identification, evaluation, placement, or services.

A plan under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act providing accommodations and services so a student with a disability can access the general curriculum and school activities, without requiring specialized instruction.

The range of placement options, from full inclusion in general education to specialized schools or home instruction, that districts must make available when choosing the least restrictive appropriate setting.

An educational approach in which students with disabilities learn in general education classrooms with appropriate supports, participate in school life, and are treated as full members of the community.

A proactive planning framework that designs curriculum with multiple means of engagement, representation, and action and expression so diverse learners can access content without retrofitted modifications.

Adjusting content, process, product, or learning environment based on student readiness, interests, and profiles so each learner can work at an appropriate level of challenge.

A change in how a student accesses or demonstrates learning, such as extended time or a read-aloud, that does not alter the content or performance expectations of the task.

A change to what a student is expected to learn or demonstrate, such as reduced content or simplified text, which alters the standard or performance expectation rather than just access.

Supports, accommodations, and personnel provided in general education settings to help a student with a disability be educated with peers without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate.

Supportive services required for a student to benefit from special education, such as speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, counseling, and transportation.

A coordinated set of activities beginning by age sixteen that prepares a student for postsecondary education, employment, and independent living, based on age-appropriate transition assessments and student goals.

A multi-tiered prevention framework using universal screening and increasingly intensive, research-based interventions with progress monitoring to address academic difficulties before referral for special education.

An integrated school-wide framework combining academic and behavioral supports across tiers of increasing intensity, using data-based decision making to meet the needs of all students.

A tiered, proactive approach to behavior that teaches and reinforces expected behaviors school-wide, using data to identify needs and intensify supports for students who require more.

A systematic process of gathering information to identify the antecedents, consequences, and functions of a problem behavior, forming the basis for an effective behavior intervention plan.

A written plan based on functional assessment data that specifies proactive strategies, replacement behaviors to teach, and responses to reduce problem behavior while supporting skill development.

A required team meeting after a disciplinary removal for more than ten days to decide whether the misconduct was caused by or directly related to the student's disability or faulty implementation of the IEP.

A disorder in one or more basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language that may affect listening, thinking, reading, writing, spelling, or mathematics, excluding other primary causes.

A specific learning disability of neurobiological origin characterized by difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition, decoding, and spelling, despite adequate instruction and intelligence.

A specific learning disability affecting number sense, fact retrieval, calculation, and mathematical reasoning, which can occur alongside strong language and reading skills.

The ability to notice and manipulate the sound structure of spoken language, including syllables, rhymes, and individual phonemes, and a foundational predictor of early reading success.

Instruction in the relationship between letters and the sounds they represent, used to help students decode unfamiliar words and spell accurately in systematic, explicit sequences.

A structured teaching approach with clear modeling, guided practice, frequent checks for understanding, and independent practice, often effective for students with disabilities learning new skills.

Temporary supports, prompts, and models that help a learner complete a task beyond current ability, gradually removed as competence grows toward independence.

Frequent, brief measurement of a student's performance on target skills to determine whether instruction is working and to adjust intervention intensity or goals based on data.

A set of brief, standardized probes in reading, writing, or math used to track student growth over time and evaluate the effectiveness of instruction or intervention.

Ongoing checks during instruction that reveal what students understand so teachers can adjust teaching immediately, as distinct from end-of-unit summative tests.

The systematic collection and interpretation of information about a student's skills, knowledge, and needs using tests, observations, work samples, and interviews to guide decisions.

A collaborative arrangement in which a general and a special educator share planning, instruction, and accountability for a diverse classroom, often using models such as station or parallel teaching.

Working jointly with families, teachers, therapists, and other professionals to plan and deliver consistent, coordinated instruction and supports for students with disabilities.

A developmental disability involving persistent differences in social communication and interaction plus restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or sensory responses, appearing in early childhood and varying widely in severity.

A disability characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior, such as conceptual, social, and practical skills, originating before age eighteen.

The conceptual, social, and practical skills a person needs for everyday independence, such as communication, self-care, safety, and social judgment, assessed when identifying intellectual disability.

A neurodevelopmental condition marked by persistent inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning, often addressed through accommodations, structure, and behavioral supports.

The mental processes that manage planning, organization, working memory, self-monitoring, and impulse control, which are often weak in students with ADHD or learning disabilities.

An eligibility category for students whose behavioral or emotional difficulties over a long period adversely affect educational performance, excluding social maladjustment alone and requiring comprehensive evaluation.

A related service that assesses and treats communication difficulties in articulation, language, fluency, or voice so a student can access and benefit from the educational program.

Any device or service, from low-tech tools to software and communication systems, that increases, maintains, or improves the functional capabilities of a student with a disability.

Methods and tools, such as picture boards, switches, or speech-generating devices, that supplement or replace spoken communication for students with limited speech.

The skills and attitudes that enable students to set goals, make choices, solve problems, and advocate for themselves, emphasized in transition planning and secondary special education.

A student's ability to understand their own needs, ask for accommodations or help, and speak up for their rights and goals in school, work, and community settings.

Instruction and assessment practices that recognize, respect, and build on students' cultural backgrounds and languages, reducing bias in referral, evaluation, and discipline decisions.

The overrepresentation or underrepresentation of a racial, ethnic, or language group in special education identification, placement, or discipline relative to its share of the student population.

Building genuine, two-way partnerships with families through regular communication, shared decision making, and respect for cultural and linguistic diversity to support student learning.