Acronyms

Pupil services is a highly-regulated area of education, which means that government agencies play a large part in the operations of any pupil services department. As a result, there is a huge number of acronyms (often referred to as alphabet soup) in use when discussing pupil services topics. To assist making sense of the alphabet soup, below find a glossary of pupil-services-related acronyms.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

AAC: Augmentative and Alternative Communication
ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act
ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
ASL: American Sign Language
AT: Assistive Technology

B 

BIP: Behavior Intervention Plan
B/VI: Blind/Visual Impairment

C

CEC: Council for Exceptional Children

D

D/HOH: Deaf/Hard of Hearing
DSM V: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Version 5

E

ED: Emotional Disturbance
EI: Early Intervention
ER: Evaluation Report
ESY: Extended School Year Services

F

FAPE: Free Appropriate Public Education
FAS: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
FBA: Functional Behavioral Analysis
FERPA: Family Education Rights and Privacy Act

H

HIPPA: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
HOTS: Higher Order Thinking Skills

I

ID: Intellectual Disability
IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
IEP: Individual Education Program
IQ: Intelligence Quotient

L

LEA: Local Education Agency
LD: Learning Disability
LRE: Least Restrictive Environment

M

MA: Medical ACCESS
MD: Multiple Disabilities
MDE: Multidisciplinary Evaluation
MID: Mild Intellectual Disability

N

NCLB: No Child Left Behind
NOREP: Notice of Recommended Educational Placement

O

ODD: Oppositional Defiant Disorder
OHI: Other Health Impairment
OT: Occupational Therapy

P

PBS: Positive Behavior Support
PBSP: Positive Behavior Support Plan
PCA: Personal Care Assistant
PDE: Pennsylvania Department of Education

R

REP: Recommended Educational Placement
RR: Reevaluation Report
RS: Related Services
RTI: Response to Intervention

S

SDI: Specially Designed Instruction
SEA: State Education Agency
SLD: Specific Learning Disability
SIB: Self-Injurious Behavior
SIP: State Improvement Plan
S/LI: Speech or Language Impairment
SPP: State Performance Plan

T

TBI: Traumatic Brain Injury
TSS: Therapeutic Support Staff

V

VBA: Verbal Behavior Analysis