IEP Glossary

Paraprofessional

A dedicated staff member assigned to support your child individually throughout the school day.

A plan that provides accommodations for students with disabilities in general education. Less comprehensive than an IEP — no specialized instruction.

A change in HOW your child learns or is tested, without changing what they learn. Examples: extra time, preferential seating, text-to-speech.

Specific, measurable goals your child should achieve within one year. Each goal should say what the child will do, how well, and by when.

Admission, Review, and Dismissal

The term used in Texas for an IEP meeting. Same purpose: reviewing and developing your child’s IEP.

Assistive Technology

Any device or tool that helps your child learn or function in school, from simple tools like pencil grips to complex ones like speech-generating devices.

The starting point for measuring progress on a goal — where your child is performing right now before intervention begins.

Benchmarks / Objectives

Smaller steps toward achieving annual goals, often measured throughout the year to track progress.

Behavior Intervention Plan

A written plan that outlines strategies to address challenging behaviors identified in the FBA. It includes prevention strategies and what to do when behaviors occur.

Committee on Special Education

The term used in New York for the IEP team.

A formal legal procedure to resolve disagreements between parents and the school about a child’s special education services.

Extended School Year

Special education services that continue beyond the regular school year (like summer) to prevent your child from losing critical skills.

Evaluation Team Report

A report written by the team of professionals who evaluated your child. It summarizes test results and determines if your child qualifies for special education.

Free Appropriate Public Education

Your child’s legal right to a free education that is designed to meet their unique needs, at no cost to you.

Functional Behavior Assessment

An assessment that looks at why your child behaves a certain way. It identifies triggers, patterns, and what the child gets from the behavior to help create a plan.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

A federal law that protects the privacy of student education records and gives parents the right to access their child’s records.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

The federal law that guarantees children with disabilities the right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) with an IEP.

Independent Educational Evaluation

Your right to have your child evaluated by a professional outside the school district, sometimes at the district’s expense.

Individualized Education Program

A legally binding document that outlines your child’s special education services, goals, accommodations, and placement. Updated at least annually.

The group that develops your child’s IEP, including you (the parent), teachers, a school administrator, and sometimes your child and other specialists.

The practice of educating children with disabilities in general education classrooms with appropriate supports and services.

Individual Transition Plan

Another name for the transition planning section of the IEP, focused on post-secondary goals.

Local Education Agency

Your local school district, responsible for providing special education services.

Least Restrictive Environment

Your child’s right to be educated with non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate. The school must justify any removal from regular classes.

Placing your child in general education classes, usually with some level of support.

A voluntary process where a neutral third party helps parents and the school reach an agreement about special education disputes.

Multi-Factored Evaluation

A comprehensive evaluation using multiple tests and observations to understand your child’s strengths, challenges, and needs.

A change in WHAT your child is expected to learn or how they’re graded. Examples: reduced assignments, simplified content, alternative assessments.

Multi-Tiered System of Supports

A framework schools use to provide different levels of support to all students based on their needs, often used before or alongside special education.

Occupational Therapy

Therapy that helps your child with fine motor skills, sensory processing, and daily tasks like writing, cutting, dressing, and self-care.

A person who helps parents understand their rights and navigate the special education system, often at no cost.

Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance

The section of the IEP that describes where your child is right now — their current skills, strengths, and challenges.

Your legal rights in the special education process, including the right to participate in meetings, access records, and dispute decisions.

Regular measurement of your child’s progress toward IEP goals, reported to you at set intervals (usually with report cards).

Physical Therapy

Therapy that helps your child with gross motor skills, balance, coordination, and physical activities like walking, running, and navigating the school.

Prior Written Notice

The school must give you written notice before making any changes to your child’s identification, evaluation, placement, or services.

A separate classroom where your child goes for part of the day to receive specialized instruction in small groups.

Response to Intervention

A process where the school provides increasingly intensive academic support to see how your child responds before considering special education.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

A civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. A 504 Plan provides accommodations but not the specialized instruction that an IEP provides.

Self-Contained Classroom

A separate classroom where your child spends most of the day with a special education teacher and fewer students.

Specific Learning Disability

A condition that affects how a child processes information, making it harder to read, write, do math, or perform other academic skills despite average intelligence.

Speech-Language Pathology

Therapy that helps your child with communication — speaking clearly, understanding language, social communication, and sometimes feeding/swallowing.

Your child’s right to remain in their current educational placement while a dispute is being resolved.

A plan (required by age 16, some states earlier) that prepares your child for life after high school — college, employment, and independent living.