Special Education Terms in Delaware
What special education terms does Delaware use?
Delaware uses standard IDEA terminology in its regulations and does not employ many unique state-specific terms. Key terminology notes for Delaware: (1) The state educational agency is the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) — not 'State Board' or 'DOE' — with the relevant division called Exceptional Children Resources (ECR); (2) Delaware uses 'Emotional Disturbance' (consistent with IDEA), not 'Emotional/Behavioral Disorder'; (3) 'Developmental Delay' (DD) is available for children ages 3–9; (4) Delaware uses the term 'Individualized Education Program' (IEP) consistent with IDEA, not any state-specific variant; (5) Delaware's state assessment is the Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System (DCAS), with the DCAS-Alt1 as the alternate assessment; (6) The term 'Exceptional Children' is used in DDOE division names and older documents; (7) Delaware multi-disciplinary evaluation team is referred to as the 'IEP team' in current regulations; (8) Mediation is available through the DDOE-maintained mediation panel (14 Del. Admin. Code 925 § 18.0); (9) Delaware uses 'Interim Alternative Educational Setting' (IAES) consistent with federal IDEA for disciplinary placements.
What Delaware Requires
DDOE Exceptional Children Resources (ECR) is the Delaware state educational agency office overseeing special education (14 Del. C. § 3109).
Delaware uses 'Emotional Disturbance' (ED) as the disability category label — consistent with 34 CFR 300.8(c)(4) — not any alternate state term.
The Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System (DCAS) is the state assessment; the DCAS-Alt1 is the alternate assessment for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities (14 Del. Admin. Code 925 § 9.1(g)).
The term 'Exceptional Children' appears in division names and legacy documents but is not a formal regulatory term for the disability category designation.
Delaware's response-to-intervention (RtI) framework is the primary method for SLD identification and is implemented through the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework (14 Del. Admin. Code 925 § 16.0).