Special Education Terms in Alabama
What special education terms does Alabama use?
Alabama uses mostly standard federal IDEA terminology in its special education system, with several notable exceptions and state-specific terms. The IEP team is called the 'IEP Team' — the same as the federal designation. The Building Based Student Support Team (BBSST) is Alabama's term for the pre-referral intervention team (other states use RTI team, MTSS team, etc.). Alabama uses 'Emotional Disturbance' as the official disability category name, not 'Emotional Disability' (Virginia, Maryland) or 'Emotional Behavioral Disability' (Oregon). Alabama uses 'Intellectual Disability' as the primary term, though older regulatory language still references 'mental retardation.' The Alabama Department of Education is formally branded as 'ALSDE' and its online presence is at alabamaachieves.org. The state's parent training center is the Alabama Parent Education Center (APEC). The Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program (ADAP) is the Protection and Advocacy organization. 'Developmental Standards' refers to Alabama's preschool content standards for special education goals.
What Alabama Requires
IEP team is called 'IEP Team' — same as federal IDEA terminology (Ala. Admin. Code r. 290-8-9-.05).
Pre-referral intervention team is called BBSST — Building Based Student Support Team — Alabama's unique term for this body (Ala. Admin. Code r. 290-8-9-.01).
Emotional disability category is officially 'Emotional Disturbance' in Alabama — not Emotional Disability or Emotional Behavioral Disability (Ala. Admin. Code r. 290-8-9-.03).
Alabama uses 'Intellectual Disability' as the primary term; older regulatory provisions may still reference 'mental retardation' in exception clauses (Ala. Admin. Code r. 290-8-9-.03).
'Alabama Extended Standards' refers to modified grade-level content for students with significant cognitive disabilities — equivalent to 'alternate achievement standards' in federal terminology (Ala. Admin. Code r. 290-8-9-.05).
'Alabama Developmental Standards' refers to preschool content standards for IEP goals for children ages 3-5 (Ala. Admin. Code r. 290-8-9-.05).
Parent Training and Information Center: Alabama Parent Education Center (APEC) — alabamaparentcenter.com.
Protection and Advocacy organization: Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program (ADAP) — adap.ua.edu.
ACAP = Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program — the statewide assessment for general education students
AAA = Alabama Alternate Assessment — for students with significant cognitive disabilities assessed on Alabama Extended Standards
ASAP = Accessibility Supports and Accommodations Policy — ALSDE’s manual governing assessment accommodations
Psychometrist = Alabama licenses psychometrists as qualified evaluators for certain educational assessments; this is a distinctly AL-specific role parents encounter during evaluations