Special Education Terms in Vermont
What special education terms does Vermont use?
Vermont generally uses standard federal IDEA terminology without significant state-specific renaming of disability categories. However, Vermont has several distinctive organizational and procedural terms that parents should understand. Key Vermont terminology: (1) 'Supervisory Union (SU)' or 'Supervisory District (SD)' — the LEA responsible for special education, not the individual school or school district (16 V.S.A. § 2942); (2) 'Evaluation Planning Team (EPT)' — the team under Rule 2362.2.2 that conducts evaluations and determines eligibility (comparable to the evaluation team in other states); (3) 'Educational Support Team (EST)' — the school-level problem-solving team within VTmtss that addresses academic, behavioral, and attendance concerns before or alongside special education (16 V.S.A. § 2902); (4) 'Vermont Agency of Education (AOE)' — the state education agency (SEA), not 'Department of Education'; (5) 'Series 2360' or 'VT State Board Rule 2360' — the special education regulations, not 'Chapter' or 'Part' as in other states; (6) 'Act 173' — the 2018 education finance reform law implementing census-based special education funding; (7) 'Developmental Delay' — used for children ages 3-9 consistent with IDEA; (8) 'Vermont Alternate Assessment' — the state's alternate assessment for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities; (9) 'VTmtss' — Vermont Multi-Tiered System of Supports, the preferred framework term (RTI is referenced within VTmtss); (10) 'CIS/EI' — Children's Integrated Services/Early Intervention, Vermont's Part C program for children birth to age 3.
What Vermont Requires
Vermont uses 'Supervisory Union (SU)' or 'Supervisory District (SD)' as the LEA responsible for special education — individual schools are not the LEA (16 V.S.A. § 2942).
Vermont uses 'Evaluation Planning Team (EPT)' under Rule 2362.2.2 as the team that conducts evaluations and determines eligibility.
Vermont uses 'Educational Support Team (EST)' as the school-level problem-solving team within VTmtss for academic, behavioral, and attendance concerns (16 V.S.A. § 2902).
Vermont uses 'Vermont Agency of Education (AOE)' as the SEA — not 'State Department of Education' or 'State Board of Education.'
Vermont calls its special education regulations 'Series 2360' or 'VT State Board Rule 2360' — organized as Rules 2360-2369 with hierarchical subsection numbering (e.g., 2362.2.1, 2363.7(i)).
Vermont uses 'Act 173' to refer to the 2018 education finance reform law implementing census-based special education funding.
Vermont uses 'VTmtss' as the preferred framework term; RTI is referenced within VTmtss as the data-based decision-making component.
Vermont uses 'CIS/EI' (Children's Integrated Services/Early Intervention) for its Part C early intervention program for children birth to age 3.
Vermont does not rename federal disability categories — all 13 IDEA categories use federal terminology (Rule 2362.1).
Sources
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