Glossary

The 13 Disability Categories recognized by IDEA include:

Autism Spectrum Disorder
Deaf-Blindness
Deafness
Emotional Disturbance
Hearing Impairment
Intellectual Disability
Multiple Disabilities
Orthopedic Impairment
Other Health Impairment
Specific Learning Disability
Speech or Language Impairment
Traumatic Brain Injury
Visual Impairment, including Blindness

The 504 Plan is a plan developed to ensure that a child who has a disability identified under the law and is attending an elementary or secondary educational institution receives accommodations that will ensure their academic success and access to the learning environment.

are tools and procedures that give students with disabilities equal access to instruction and assessment. They are designed to level the playing field for students with disabilities, and are generally grouped into the following categories: Presentation, Timing/Scheduling, Response, Setting

is self that consists of the attributes that you or someone else believes you actually possess.

is learned behaviors that reflect an individual's social and practical competence to meet the demands of everyday living

act prohibits discrimination of individuals based on disability.

Association of American Educators is the largest national, non-union, professional educators' organization, advancing the profession by offering a modern approach to teacher representation and educational advocacy, as well as promoting professionalism, collaboration and excellence.

is a disorder characterized by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity

means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences

was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down the “Separate but Equal” doctrine and outlawed the ongoing segregation in schools. The court ruled that laws mandating and enforcing racial segregation in public schools were unconstitutional, even if the segregated schools were “separate but equal” in standards

as part of IDEA, the State must have in effect policies and procedures to ensure that—
(i) All children with disabilities residing in the State, including children with disabilities who are homeless children or are wards of the State, and children with disabilities attending private schools, regardless of the severity of their disability, and who are in need of special education and related services, are identified, located, and evaluated; and
(ii) A practical method is developed and implemented to determine which children are currently receiving needed special education and related services

The sharing between individuals of their work, characterized by voluntariness, mutual goals, parity, shared responsibility for critical decisions, joint accountability for outcomes, and shared resources.

measures the extent to which a measurement is confirmed by a related measurement. It is a type of criterion-related validity that compares the test results to observations or measurements from other tests, surveys, or assessments

is the extent to which a measure accurately assesses the construct or latent attribute that it is intended to measure.

refers to a diverse, interdisciplinary set of theoretical approaches. The task of critical disability theory is to analyze disability as a cultural, historical, relative, social, and political phenomenon.

is an intellectual and social movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of colour. Critical race theorists hold that racism is inherent in the law and legal institutions of the United States insofar as they function to create and maintain social, economic, and political inequalities between whites and nonwhites

evaluation techniques for monitoring student progress in core academic areas such as reading, writing and math

means concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness

delay in the age at which developmental milestones are achieved by a child or delay in the development of communication, social, and daily living skills.

means tailoring instruction to meet individual needs. Whether teachers differentiate content, process, products, or the learning environment, the use of ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes this a successful approach to instruction.

an inability or incapacity to perform a task or activity in a normative fashion

is an interdisciplinary area of study based in the humanities and social sciences that views disability in the context of culture, society, and politics rather than through the lens of medicine or psychology.

includes procedural safeguards to ensure the protection of the rights of the parent / guardian and the student with a disability under IDEA and related state and federal laws and regulations.

posits that an individual’s development is influenced by a series of interconnected environmental systems, ranging from the immediate surroundings (e.g., family) to broad societal structures (e.g., culture).

Congress enacted the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142), also known as the EHA, in 1975 to support states and localities in protecting the rights of, meeting the individual needs of, and improving the results for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities and their families. This landmark law’s name changed to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, in a 1990 reauthorization

means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:
(A) An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
(B) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
(C) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
(D) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
(E) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.
(ii) Emotional disturbance includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance under paragraph (c)(4)(i) of this section.

a science that tries to improve the human race by controlling which people become parents

A federal K-12 education law of the United States. ESSA was signed into law in 2015 and replaced the previous education law called “No Child Left Behind.” ESSA extended more flexibility to States in education and laid out expectations of transparency for parents and for communities.

designed to prevent a particular person or group of people from taking part in something or doing something

is a federal law that affords parents the right to have access to their children’s education records, the right to seek to have the records amended, and the right to have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the education records. When a student turns 18 years old, or enters a postsecondary institution at any age, the rights under FERPA transfer from the parents to the student

education must be available to all children residing in the State between the ages of 3 and 21, inclusive, including children with disabilities who have been suspended or expelled from school

is a hearing impairment, whether permanent or fluctuating, which impairs processing speech and language reception and discrimination through hearing, even with amplification, and which adversely affects educational performance

is self that consists of the attributes that you or someone else would like you to possess.

designed or intended to provide equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized

a written statement for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in a meeting

is the written plan for providing early intervention services to an infant or toddler with a disability and infant’s or toddler’s family

is a law that makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation and ensures special education and related services to those children

is significant sub-average general intellectual functioning combined with deficits in adaptive behavior. Also characterized as Developmental Cognitive Delay/Developmental Delay (DCD/DD)

a score obtained on a test of mental ability; it is usually found by relating a person’s test score to his or her age

Messages sent and received between two people.

Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium. InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards and Learning Progressions for Teachers. These core teaching standards outline what all teachers across all content and grade levels should know and be able to do to be effective in today's learning contexts

Variations within an individual; unique patterns of strengths and needs (variations in intelligence).

Communication phenomena that exist within or occurs because of an individual’s self or mind.

requires to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are not disabled, and special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability of a child is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily

A representative of the public agency who is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities; is knowledgeable about the general education curriculum; and is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the public agency. This person is often a school or district administrator.

modifications change the the content and/or the instructional level of the curriculum. While accommodations are changes in formats or procedures, modifications change the difficulty level and/or quantity of the content being taught. Modifications are made for students with disabilities who are unable to comprehend all of the content an instructor is teaching. For example, assignments might be reduced in number and modified significantly for an elementary school student with cognitive impairments that limit his or her ability to understand the content in the general education class in which they are included

is a school-wide approach that addresses the needs of all students, including struggling learners and students with disabilities, and integrates assessment and intervention within a multi-level instructional and behavioral system to maximize student achievement and reduce problem behaviors

the involvement of two or more separate disciplines or professions and with respect to evaluation of the child in and assessments of the child and family in may include one individual who is qualified in more than one discipline or profession; and the IFSP team and must include the involvement of the parent(s)

is concomitant impairments (such as intellectual disability-blindness or intellectual disability-orthopedic impairment), the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. Multiple disabilities does not include deaf-blindness

is the national membership organization dedicated solely to meeting the needs of special education teachers and those preparing for the field of special education teaching

represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college students preparing to become teachers

in sociology and psychology, term to describe the natural variation in brain function and behavior among humans

was designed to address the concern that the American education system was lagging behind its international competitors by holding schools responsible for boosting student performance through mandated standardized tests and minimum performance benchmarks. The law required states to test students in grades 3-8 in reading and math and break down student data into subgroups by race, disability, and socioeconomic status. States also had to ensure all teachers were “highly qualified,” meaning they have a bachelor’s degree and state certification in the subject they are teaching

means a severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance

means having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment

is self that consists of the attributes you or someone else believes you should possess

is the largest child advocacy organization in the United States

a place for poor people to live that is paid for by the taxes, donations, etc., of other people

evidence that a test score or other measurement correlates with a variable that can only be assessed at some point after the test has been administered or the measurement made. For example, the predictive validity of a test designed to predict the onset of a disease would be strong if high test scores were associated with individuals who later developed that disease.

a statement of the child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance

Protections for parents of children with disabilities as detailed in Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These protections must be provided to parents at specific points in the special education process.

an assessment used to determine whether students are making adequate progress and to determine whether instruction needs to be adjusted.

is a federal law that provides certain rights for parents of students regarding, among other things, student participation in surveys; the inspection of instructional material; certain physical exams; and the collection, disclosure, and use of personal information for marketing purpose

the process of requesting an evaluation for a student who is suspected of having a disability. A referral is official and must be in written form. Once it is made, timelines and procedural safeguards ensue.

is a federal law prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities by federal agencies, federal contractors, or programs receiving federal funds

the trustworthiness or consistency of a measure, that is, the degree to which a test or other measurement instrument is free of random error, yielding the same results across multiple applications to the same sample.

is a multi-tiered instructional framework [and] schoolwide approach that addresses the needs of all students, including struggling learners and students with disabilities, and integrates assessment and intervention within a multi-level instructional and behavioral system to maximize student achievement and reduce problem behaviors

changes references to ‘‘mental retardation’’ in Federal law to ‘‘intellectual disability’’ or ‘‘intellectual disabilities"

the process of fully developing and using your abilities

is purposeful disclosure of personal information to another person.

The process of strategically concealing or revealing personal information in order to influence others’ perceptions.

is specially designed instruction, at no cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability. Source: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual differences, disabilities, and special needs. This involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials, and accessible settings

means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia

means a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance

a learner-centered approach to teaching that helps students identify, articulate and apply individual skills relevant to their learning needs.

means an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Traumatic brain injury applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech

The tendency of human beings to eliminate unknown elements of individuals whom they have just met. Individuals wish to predict what another person thinks and how another person behaves. Strategies for reducing uncertainty include passive, active, and interactive.

focuses on planning instruction in such a way to meet the varied needs of students at the point of first best instruction, thereby reducing the amount of follow-up and alternative instruction necessary

the degree to which empirical evidence and theoretical rationales support the adequacy and appropriateness of conclusions drawn from some form of assessment. Validity has multiple forms, depending on the research question and on the particular type of inference being made.

focuses on planning instruction in such a way to meet the varied needs of students at the point of first best instruction, thereby reducing the amount of follow-up and alternative instruction necessary

is a set of recommendations for making Web content more accessible, primarily for people with disabilities

an individual who, without authorization, reveals private or classified information about an organization, usually related to wrongdoing or misconduct