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Special Education Concepts

Key Concepts:

Terms in this set (134)

Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA)

Originally passed by Congress in 1975 and reauthorized several times, most recently in 2004, the IDEA specifies the procedures for insuring that all children with disabilities receives a free appropriate education in the least restrictive environment possible. It also includes requirements for parental involvement and due process procedures when parents or guardians disagree with a school's decision regarding their child.

Individualized Education Program (IEP)

The federal special education law (IDEA) requires that an IEP be developed by a team for each student receiving special education services. The IEP must contain a statement of the student's present levels of educational performance, annual goals related to areas of deficit, short-term objective describing the intermediate steps to the annual goals, criteria and procedures for determining the achievement of the objectives, and educational services to be provided to the student. Any changes to a student's IEP must be agreed upon by the entire IEP team. Changes cannot be made unilaterally by one individual.

Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)

A plan, similar to an IEP, by designed for young children (under 3 years of age) and their families. An IFSP is somewhat broader than an IEP in that it also specifies services and resource to be provided to the entire family in support of the child with disabilities.

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

A legal term from the IDEA that specifies that students with disabilities must be educated as close to the same environment as their typical (nondisabled) peers. It is this provision on which inclusion is based.

Manifestation Determination

A determination that a student's inappropriate behavior is not a result, or manifestation, of his or her disability. This is usually determined in a hearing and is required when a student's behavior violates school rules and before the school can undertake disciplinary action that might result in a student's suspension from school.

The use of memory-enhancing strategies or cues to remember something. This might include such things as rhymes, visualization or acronyms.

Nonverbal Learning Disabilities

Refers to individuals who have a cluster of disabilities in social interaction, math, visual-spatial and tactual tasks.

A method used to integrate students with disabilities into general education settings. It is based on research that demonstrates that students can effectively tutor one another. It maximizes active student engagement with an academic task and can also improve social and communication skills. One particularly effective form is Classwide Peer Tutoring (CWPT).

Positive Behavioral Support (PBS)

Using methods and techniques that support desirable and appropriate behavior rather than punishing undesirable or inappropriate behavior. It usually consists of determining what types of reinforcers would promote appropriate student behavior and then using those reinforcers to help the student engage in that behavior.

A sudden alternation of consciousness, usually accompanied by motor activity and/or sensory phenomena, caused by an abnormal discharge of electrical energy in the brain.

A congenital midline defect resulting from failure of the bony spinal column to close completely during fetal development. It may occur anywhere from the head to the lower end of the spine. Because the spinal column is not closed, the spinal card can protrude, resulting in damage to the nerves and paralysis and/or lack of function or sensation below the site of the defect.

Stereotypic Behaviors

Any of a variety of repetitive behaviors that are sometimes found in individuals who are have autism, blindness, or who are severely mentally retarded. May include such things as rubbing eyes, hand flapping, swaying from side to side, etc.

Supported Employment

A method of integrating people with disabilities who cannot work independently into competitive employment. Includes the use of a job coach who helps the person with disabilities train for and succeed on the job.

Systematic Instruction

Teaching that involves instructional prompts, consequences, or reinforcement,for performance, and transfer of stimulus control. It is usually used with individuals with mental retardation.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

An injury through the brain due to an accident (not conditions present at birth, birth trauma, or degenerative disease). Results in total or partial disability that affects educational performance. It may affect any or all areas of cognition, language, memory, attention, judgment, motor skills, behavior, emotions, problem solving, or speech. Because as the brain heals the symptoms will change over time TBI requires close communication among education, medical and other professionals, and parents/guardians.

Individual Transition Plan (ITP)

The IDEA requires that, no later than age 16 (or earlier if appropriate), each student's IEP should contain a statement of needed transition services. In addition, the ITP must include a statement of linkages and responsibilities for each appropriate agency for provide those services. The intent is to have a plan in place to facilitate the individual's successful transition from the school setting to the community.

A person who assists workers with disabilities to be successful in a job setting. A job coach provides vocational assessment, instruction, planning, interaction and communication assistance with employers, and other services to support the individual in a job.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The ADA is a civil rights law for persons with disabilities to protect them from discrimination in a wide range of activities, such as employment, transportation, public accommodations, and telecommunications. This is not the primary law that provides protection and safeguards educational rights of students in schools. That law is the IDEA.

Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act

Signed into law in 1998, this law provides federal funds for occupationally-relevant equipment, vocational curriculum materials, materials for learning labs, curriculum development or modification, staff development, career counseling and guidance activities, efforts for academic-vocational integration, supplemental services for special populations, hiring vocational staff, remedial classes, and expansion of tech prep programs. In special education its primary benefit is that it requires schools, and distributes funds, to provide vocational training, planning and placement for students with special needs.

Applied Behavior Analysis

An approach often used with children with autism, although it can be used for other purposes as well. It breaks a skill or task down into smaller units or steps. The teacher practices each step with the child, helping the child to connect the smaller steps with the larger task or skill. The teacher uses prompts and reinforcements to assist and encourage the child to correctly perform each step with the prompts and reinforcers gradually reduced until the skill is self-maintained by the child

Passed in 1986, this law (Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments) established early intervention for young children from birth to age three and their families.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, these is the state required curriculum for all public schools in Texas. The TEKS lists the skills students should have mastered at various grade levels in all academic subjects. The TEKS do not provide information about resources to teach the skills or how to evaluate them. It is simply a list of those skills. A teacher can tell, for children at any grade level, the prerequisite skills the students should already have mastered and which skills the students will need to master next.

Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

ADHD is a neurological disorder that can result in lack of attention, impulsivity and/or hyperactivity. The three types of ADHD, as defined by the DSM-IV-, are Predominately Inattentive Type, Predominately Hyperactive-Impulsive Type, and Combined Type, which incorporates the all the characteristics of the other two types. ADHD is not an identified disability under the IDEA, but students with the disability may be served under the Other Health Impaired category of the IDEA, or under the Learning Disabilities or Seriously Emotionally Disordered categories since there is a large overlap between ADHD and these other disabilities.

Perseveration means to keep doing the same thing again and again. This is a common characteristic of individuals with autism spectrum disorder, as well as other types of disabilities. It may manifest itself in repeating an action multiple times and not being able to stop.

Echolalia is to repeat back something that has already been said, exactly as it is said. You might ask, "What's your name?" and the person will reply back, "What's your name?" While many children with autism exhibit this characteristic, it does not fit the definition in the question stem and, thus, it is not the correct word for this question.

Encephalitis literally means an inflammation of the brain, but it usually refers to brain inflammation caused by a virus. It has no impact on the sense of thirst.

Asthma is caused by an inflammation or obstruction of the air passages, making it difficult to breath. It does not affect thirst.

This disorder, caused by the body's inability to produce insulin can sometimes result in insulin shock, which is sometimes signaled by an increased level of thirst. Both asthma and cystic fibrosis are breathing disorders not related to thirst.

Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis results from a buildup of mucus in the lungs or gastrointestinal tract that interferes with breathing or digestion.

Epilepsy is a neurological condition, which affects the nervous system. Epilepsy is also known as a seizure disorder . It is usually diagnosed after a person has had at least two seizures that were not caused by some known medical condition like alcohol withdrawal or extremely low blood sugar.
The seizures in epilepsy may be related to a brain injury or a family tendency, but most of the time the cause is unknown.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, OCD, is an anxiety disorder and is characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors (compulsions). Repetitive behaviors such as hand washing, counting, checking, or cleaning are often performed with the hope of preventing obsessive thoughts or making them go away. Performing these so-called "rituals," however, provides only temporary relief, and not performing them markedly increases anxiety.

Ecological Assessment

An ecological assessment refers to an assessment of the child's environment. We know that a student's school achievement is affected, not just by the school alone, but also by many other factors in the child's environment. In order to obtain a true and complete picture of the child's ability and needs it is helpful to collect information on these factors, as well.

Prereferral is when a school has a systematic process of assisting the classroom teacher with students who are having problems in the regular classroom. It involves collecting existing information of the child and assisting with the development of strategies and interventions to help the child to be successful. Research has shown that when the process is down well it reduces the number of students referred for special education because their problems are solved without special education being necessary.

In special education transition refers to any time a student is transitioning from one type of program or service to another. There are two main times when this term used in relation to students with disabilities. One is when the individual is transitioning from school to a post-school setting, such as the community. This process is usually guided by the Individual Transition Plan required as part of the IEP when the student turns 16 (or younger if appropriate). The other time the term transition is used is when a child with disabilities transitions from an early childhood, center-based, or home-based program into a public school setting. This transition process requires careful and continuous communication on the part of the previous service providers, the new service providers, and the parents/guardians.

Generalization is the process by which a skill learned in one setting is transferred, or generalized, to other settings. Individuals with mental retardation, for example, do not generalize well. They tend not to be able to transfer a skill learned in one setting to another, unfamiliar, setting.

Community-Based Instruction

Because individuals with mental retardation do not generalize well, community-based instruction is the appropriate way to teach community and independent living skills. In community-based instruction individuals with disabilities are given the opportunity to learn skills such as transportation, shopping, eating, work, etc., in the actual settings in which those skills will be used.

Strategy Instruction

Because many students with disabilities, particularly those with learning disabilities, tend to be poor strategic thinkers, strategy instruction has emerged as a highly effective technique for helping them learn many skills, both academic and social. A strategy is a tool, plan, or method used for accomplishing a task. It includes a set of steps to accomplish a particular task, such as taking a test, comprehending text, and writing a story. Memory strategies are usually called mnemonics and are often combined with other learning strategies. For example, a first-letter mnemonic is often used to help the learner follow the steps of the strategy.

Functional Curriculum

A functional curriculum is one that addresses skills students will need in everyday life. Functional skills are the variety of skills that are frequently demanded in natural domestic, vocational, and community environments. Functional skills are built around real life experiences. The skills involve cooperation between students and teachers in the planning of learning experiences. Instructional programs, especially those for many students with mental retardation, should be built around functional activities that involve skills of immediate usefulness to students and employ teaching materials that are real. Activities center on small groups or individuals. The activities often include teams of teachers guiding students through active participation.

Collaborative Consultation

A special educator and a regular educator working together to develop strategies for teaching students with disabilities. The relationship between the two is characterized by shared responsibility and decision-making.

A special educator teaching side-by-side with a general educator in a classroom with both teachers providing instruction to all students.

Itinerant Teacher

A special education teacher who visits several different schools to provide instruction for students with disabilities. This model is often used for students with low-incidence disabilities such as visual impairments.

Perkins Brailler

A machine with six keys, one for each of the six dots of the Braille alphabet cell. The keys leave an embossed print on paper.

Total Communication

An approach blending both oral and manual communication it is used to teach children with hearing impairments.

An approach that describes the education of students with disabilities with their same-age peers without disabilities. Students without disabilities are taught in general education classrooms with medications and services provided in that setting rather than in a separate setting.

Catheterization

The insertion of a tube into the urethra to drain the bladder.

Tourette's Syndrome

A neurological disorder beginning in childhood that involves stereotypical, repetitive motor movements (tics). These are often accompanied by multiple vocal outbursts such grunting or inappropriate words such as swearing. It is about three times more prevalent in boys than in girls.

A genetic condition occurring as a result of an abnormality in the twenty-first pair of chromosomes. It is characterized by mental retardation and physical characteristics such as eyes that appear slanted, hypotonia, a single crease across the palm of the hand, short stature and a tendency for being obese.

Mental Retardation

A condition resulting in low cognitive ability and low adaptive behavior skills. Individuals with mental retardation may have other related physical, behavioral, and language disorders, as well, although the condition varies widely among individuals. The disability can be mild to severe and is can be caused by a number of factors including genetics, environment, trauma, neglect, etc. The evaluation of someone for mental retardation would include an IQ test and a measure of adaptive behavior skills.

Learning Disabilities

Assumed to be caused by central nervous system dysfunction that results in processing problems, learning disabilities can take a number of forms and impact a number of academic, behavioral, and social areas. It is usually manifested in a significant discrepancy between a person's ability (as measured by an IQ test) and his or her achievement. Individuals with learning disabilities often have difficulty processing language, organization, visual and/or auditory perception and discrimination, and social skills. The characteristics and severity of a learning disability can take many different forms and not all students with a learning disability have the same learning needs.

One of five disorders along the autism spectrum it is characterized by extreme social withdrawal and impairments in communication. Individuals with autism often have stereotypical behaviors, over reaction to environmental or sensory stimuli and any changes to their routine. It is usually manifested by age three and can vary widely in its level of severity. Individuals with autism often (but not always) have impairments in cognitive ability, language and social skills.

Direct Instruction

A teaching method which focuses on drill and practice with lots of immediate feedback and student response. Lessons are fast-paced, highly sequenced, and scripted. It is most often used to teach academic subjects such as reading and math.

Conduct Disorder

A disorder characterized by overt, aggressive behavior or obvious antisocial behavior that may include such things as lying, stealing, and destruction of property. This behavior may be overt or covert.

Behavioral Inhibition

The ability to stop an intended response, or an ongoing response, to protect an ongoing response from interruption, and the inability to refrain from responding immediately to a stimulus, thought, or impulse. It makes it difficult for an individual to delay gratification and can interfere with executive functions. It is usually delayed or impaired in students with ADHD.

A communication system in which raised dots on a page allow and individual who is blind to read with their fingertips. It consists of guadrangular cell containing from one to six dots. The way the dots are arranged denotes different letters or symbols.

A condition characterized by paralysis, weakness, lack of coordination and other type of motor problems. It is caused by damage to parts of the brain, before, during or shortly after birth. Some individuals have mental retardation and some do not. The severity depends on the parts of the brain that are damaged and the extent to which they are damaged.

ARD stands for Admission, Review and Dismissal. An ARD committee exists for each student receiving special education services. The ARD committee is responsible for determining if a student is eligible for special education and for developing an appropriate educational program for the student. The ARD committee has sole authority to review and change a special education student's eligibility for services, educational placement or IEP.

Adaptive Behavior

Social, behavioral, and practical skills used to function in everyday life. This is one of the two areas, along with intellectual functioning, used to determine the presence of mental retardation. In some individuals adaptive behavior is not age or developmentally appropriate. It is usually measured by a scale that is completed by individuals who know the person being assessed.

Autism Spectrum Disorders

Used to refer to five conditions that are very similar; autism, Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified.. Al involve varying degrees of difficulty with communication, social interactions and repetitive stereotypical behaviors.

Behavior Modification

A method of behavior change which focuses on the control of environmental events, particularly consequences. It includes such things as reinforcement, punishment, modeling, guided practice, self-management or any technique to strengthen or weaken an identified behavior. It is based on the assumption that behavior is predictable, observable and measurable.

Collaborative Consultation

An instruction approach that involves a special and a general educator working together to develop instructional strategies or solutions to specific classroom problems. It is built on a shared, equal partnership of expertise, authority, responsibility, and accountability

Cooperative Learning

An instructional approach in which students work in groups that are mixed in terms of ability, gender, and ethnicity. It stresses mutual accountability, dependence and support as group members work together to solve problems and create products. The focus is not just on academic goals, but social and behavioral goals as well.

Prader-Willi Syndrome

Caused by a lack of genetic material in the 15 pair of chromosomes. Usually inherited from the father. The leading genetic cause of obesity. The degree of mental retardation varies, but is usually in the mild range. Students with Prader-Willi syndrome can be rigid and oppositional. They do not respond well to sudden changes in their routine. It can also result in low muscle tone, short stature, incomplete sexual development, cognitive disabilities, problem behaviors, and a chronic feeling of hunger that can lead to excessive eating and life-threatening obesity.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Associated with the mother drinking alcohol during pregnancy or while nursing. Disorders can vary from mild to severe and include retardation in growth and cognitive ability as well as hyperactivity, anomalies of the face, and heart failure.

Fragile X Syndrome

Caused when the bottom of the X chromosome in the 23rd pair is pinched off. Distinctive facial characteristics include long face and large ears. Disorders can vary from mild to severe. In some individuals Fragile X results in learning disabilities, in some it can result in mental retardation and autistic characteristics. Symptoms tend to be more severe in boys due to the fact that males only have one X chromosome in each pair. Fragile X is thought to be the most common hereditary cause of mental retardation.

Locus of Control

Refers to motivation of an individual. A person who has an internal locus of control believes that he or she controls their own fate. In other words, their effort has a direct impact on their success. Those with an external locus of control believe that they have no control over what happens to them. It is all the result of external forces they cannot control, such as fate, other people, luck, etc. As a result, someone with an external locus of control does not see any connection between their effort and how successful they are.

A condition in which the head develops much smaller and in a conical shape. Because of the size and shape of the brain, proper development is impeded and results in some degree of mental retardation.

A process by which we construct meaning from print.

The process of incorporating new ideas into existing ideas. A concept developed by Jean Piaget.

The process by which concepts or schema are modified or new created to accommodate new knowledge. A concept developed by Jean Piaget. This meaning of accommodation relates to the way young children integrate new information with things they already know to gain a better understanding of concepts and other knowledge.

Zone of Proximal Development

The area between independent performance and potential as determined through problem solving under guidance of an adult or more capable peer. A concept develop by Vygotsky.

The support and guidance provided by an adult that helps a student function or achieve at a higher level. Scaffolding is often used to assist students in initial learning, but the scaffolding is gradually reduced until the student is learning on his/her own.

Authentic Assessment

An alternative form of assessment that reflects the actual learning and activities of students. In authentic assessment the emphasis in on the product produced, as opposed ot multiple choice or other type of objective assessments. Examples of authentic assessment methods would include rubrics, observations, samples of work, anecdotal records, portfolios.

The degree to which a test yields consistent results. For example, if you took the same test again and again, would your results be pretty much the same.

The degree to which a test measures what it is suppose to measure. There are different types of validity. Content validity refers to whether or not the content of the test is consistent with what it is suppose to measure. Predictive validity refers to whether or not a test score predicts what it is suppose to predict. Construct validity refers to whether or not the test accurately measures the construct it's suppose to measure (i.e. intelligence, self-esteem, etc.).

Norm-Referenced Tests

Tests where a student's performance is compared with a norm group, or a representative sampling students similar to the student. A person's score on a norm-referenced test describes how the student did in relation to the norm group. Tests results are reported in such formats as standard scores or percentiles.

Criterion-Referenced Tests

Tests where the student's performance is compared to a standard or criterion. The student's score is not based on how he/she compared with other students, but rather on how the student did as measured by the criteria or standards. Criterion-referenced test will yield such scores as percentages or number of correct answers.

Curriculum-Based Assessment

This is a particular type of criterion-referenced test in which the test items are taken from the curriculum being taught to the student. This type of test can provide information regarding how well the student is learning the curriculum being taught.

Diagnostic Probe

This is a particular type of criterion-referenced test that is very specific and focused on a particular part of the curriculum, i.e. two-digit multiplication, vowel diagraphs, etc., and provides more in-depth information about the exact nature of the student's academic difficulty.

An instrument used to assess a product or process. It contains a description of each of the traits or characteristics of the standard that is being measured. It helps the student to see exactly what was being assessed and the standards by which he/she is evaluated.

Graphic Organzier

A diagram or chart to show the relationship among words, concepts or ideas.

A graphic organizer that uses lines and circles to organize information according to categories.

Semantic Feature Analysis

A graphic organizer using a grid to compare a series of words or other items on a number of characteristics.

A graphic organizer that uses overlapping circles to show relationships among words, ideas, concepts, or other things.

Literally "thinking about your thinking." It refers to monitoring or being conscious of one's own thought process. It includes self-talk and self-monitoring of thoughts and actions.

Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA)

An evaluation consisting of finding out what purpose a particular behavior serves, what triggers the behavior, and what features of a setting maintains the behavior. The FBA provides information to guide educators in planning appropriate strategies and interventions to address inappropriate student behavior.

A legal term giving a person legal authority to make decisions, including educational decisions, for another person. It can apply to parents who have children with severe disabilities.

A condition in which the head is enlarged by excessive pressure from cerebral-spinal fluid. Can result in mental retardation or other conditions. Usually a shunt is implanted to assist in draining off the excess fluid.

Response to Intervention

Response to Intervention (RtI) is an approach to diagnosing Learning Disabilities in students. In RtI, a student who is struggling academically is given one or more research based interventions. The student's academic progress is monitored and documented on a regular basis to determine if the interventions are assisting the student in improving academically. If the student fails to show significant academic improvement, even with the use of well-designed and research validated interventions, this failure to respond to intervention may be considered as evidence of an underlying learning disability.

Progress Monitoring

Progress monitoring is a scientifically based practice used to assess students' academic performance and determine the effectiveness of instruction. In progress monitoring the student's current levels of educational achievement are determined and academic goals are established. Appropriate interventions are used and the student's academic performance is measured regularly on a weekly or monthly basis. Progress toward goals is measured by comparing expected and actual rates of learning. Depending on the results of this monitoring instruction is adjusted appropriately.

Early Intervening

Early intervening services was included in the 2004 reauthorization of the IDEA. It allows and encourages schools to provide intervention to struggling services even before they have been identified for special education. It is an important component of the Response to Intervention approach.

Assistive Technology

An assistive technology device is any item, piece of equipment or product used to
increase, maintain or improve the functioning of a student with a disability. Assistive technology devices for students with disabilities include those used for seating and positioning, mobility, augmentative communication, computer access and instruction, environmental control, adaptive toys and games, visual and listening aids, and selfcare. Assistive technology services, including training, assist students with disabilities
in the selection, acquisition or use of an assistive technology device. An assistive
technology evaluation will determine if an assistive technology device and/or service
is necessary to ensure the student will benefit from special education services.

Early Childhood Intervention (ECI)

ECI is a statewide program for children from birth to age three who have
developmental delays. ECI must make services available for every eligible child. Early
intervention programs are required by Part C of IDEA.

Education Service Centers (ESCs)

Education Service Centers are located in each of 20 geographic regions covering the state. Their main function is to provide training and technical assistance to the school districts located in their region. ESCs must also include parents in some of its training.

Extended School Year (ESY)

ESY refers to education services provided in the summer (or over a holiday break)
to some students with disabilities who require them as a part of their free appropriate public education. ESY services are to be provided in accordance with the IEP and at no cost to the parents.

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)

A component of the IDEA, it refers to special education and/or related services designed to meet the individual needs of each student at no cost to the parents, guaranteed to all students with disabilities.

Highly Qualified Teachers

NCLB and IDEA require each state to require all teachers, including special education teachers, who teach in "core academic subjects" to be "highly qualified". For specific information about Texas requirements, go to www.tea.state.tx.us/nclb/hqteachers.html.

Modifications, unlike accommodations, change the level of instruction provided or tested. Modifications create a different standard for the student receiving them. The most common modifications are those made to the general education curriculum for a student with a cognitive disability. Curriculum modifications should be in the student's IEP.

Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS)

PBIS is a proactive systems approach for creating and maintaining safe and effective
learning environments in schools and ensuring that all students have the social and
emotional skills needed to ensure their success in school and beyond.

Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities (PPCD)

PPCDs are public school services for children between the ages of 3 and 5 who qualify for special education services. Students ages 3 to 5 can receive special education services and support in settings such as a regular preschool in the community, a Head Start program or a pre-kindergarten class. Options for 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds

Scientifically Based Instruction

These are instructional and curriculum practices based on sound methodology and
supported by credible research. One component of scientifically based instruction
is that the research has been "peer reviewed." Requirements for scientifically based instruction are in both IDEA and NCLB.

Section 504 is the common name for the federal law that prohibits discrimination
against students with disabilities. Section 504 (of Public Law 93-112, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973) applies to any agency, including a school district, which receives federal money.

Standards-Based IEP

All students are required to have enrolled, grade-level, standards-based, measurable,
annual IEP goals. Standards-based goals are aligned to enrolled grade-level Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), the general curriculum in Texas. IEP goals should reflect and link directly to specific grade-level TEKS for all students, including students who are taking modified and alternate assessments. For more information on standards-based IEPs, go to the Region 20 Education Service Center, Access to the General Curriculum (AGC) Statewide Leadership website at
http://portal.esc20.net/portal/page/portal/esc20public/SpecialEducation/AGCHome/
AGCStatewideLeadership.

Universal Design

Universal design is a way of designing products and services so they can be used by
people with the widest possible range of abilities.

This use of the word accommodations refers to adjustments made in how a student with a disability is taught
or tested to better meet the student's individual needs. Accommodations do not change what the student is taught or what s/he is expected to know, but how s/he is taught or the method of testing. Common examples of accommodations are: highlighted textbooks, extensions of time for a student who writes slowly, or seating close to the teacher. Assistive technology is a common accommodation.

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)

Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), all schools, school districts and states are
required to show progress in: reading/language arts, math, and either graduation rates or attendance rates. There are consequences for failing to meet AYP criteria for two consecutive years. AEPs are disciplinary programs operated by school districts for students who have committed a range of offenses specified in state law and/or in the district's Student Code of Conduct. AEPs operated by the school district are Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs (DAEPs). AEPs operated by the juvenile justice system are called Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Programs (JJAEPs). Students with disabilities who are in DAEPs or JJAEPs are still entitled to special education services.

Council for Exceptional Children

Developmentally Appropriate

Paraprofessionals

Auditory Processing Disorder

Competitive Employment

Sheltered Workshop

Developmental Disabilities

Behavior Shaping

Alternative Learning Environment

Texas Department of Assistive & Rehabilitative Services

Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities

Developmentally Delayed

Orientation and Mobility

Other Health Impaired

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)

Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)

STAAR-Mod - State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness-Modified

STAAR-Alt - State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness-Alternate

Texas Behavior Supports Initiative

Texas Education Telecommunications Network

A Content Mastery Class

an instructional placement in which a student comes to from the general education classroom to get one to one re-teaching, to complete regular class assignments, or to take tests after instruction has been given in the regular classroom. The curriculum in Content Mastery matches that of the regular classroom. Students will receive direct instruction in the classroom and then as necessary visit CM for guided practice, independent practice, re-teaching or test taking.

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