Special Education Terms in South Dakota
What special education terms does South Dakota use?
South Dakota uses several state-specific terms that differ from standard federal IDEA terminology, which can be confusing for families moving from other states or consulting federal resources. The most significant differences are: (1) 'Cognitive disability' (SD term) = 'Intellectual disability' (federal/most states) — defined in ARSD 24:05:24.01:11 as significantly below-average intellectual functioning 2+ standard deviations below the mean plus concurrent adaptive behavior deficits; (2) 'Emotional behavioral disability' or 'EBD' (SD term) = 'Emotional disturbance' or 'ED' (federal) — defined in ARSD 24:05:24.01:16 with five qualifying characteristics; (3) 'Vision loss including blindness' (SD term) encompasses both 'visual impairment including blindness' and 'blindness' as federal uses them; (4) South Dakota's IEP form references 'ARSD 24:05:27' throughout rather than citing IDEA directly; (5) South Dakota uses the term 'students with disabilities' rather than 'children with disabilities' in its regulations; (6) 'Prolonged assistance' describes Part C early intervention eligibility (ARSD 24:05:22:04) rather than the federal term 'developmental delay' at birth-to-3; (7) The IEP form progress codes P/I/X/M are South Dakota-specific shorthand; (8) South Dakota calls its alternate assessment eligibility criteria 'significant cognitive disability' (three-prong test); (9) 'Hearing loss' is used where federal regulations often say 'hard of hearing'; (10) 'Behavior support plan' (BSP) is the term used in SDDOE PBIS materials where many states say 'behavior intervention plan' (BIP), though both terms appear in South Dakota guidance.
What South Dakota Requires
'Cognitive disability' is South Dakota's term for what federal IDEA and most other states call 'intellectual disability' (ARSD 24:05:24.01:11).
'Emotional behavioral disability' (EBD) is South Dakota's term for federal IDEA's 'emotional disturbance' (ED) (ARSD 24:05:24.01:16).
South Dakota uses 'hearing loss' to refer to what IDEA calls 'hearing impairment' (for students who are hard of hearing but not deaf).
South Dakota uses 'prolonged assistance' to describe Part C early intervention eligibility for birth-to-3 (ARSD 24:05:22:04).
The IEP form uses progress codes P (progress), I (insufficient), X (not addressed), M (met) specific to South Dakota.
'Behavior support plan' (BSP) is used in SDDOE PBIS materials; 'behavior intervention plan' (BIP) also appears in discipline guidance — these are functionally equivalent terms.