Adapted Physical Education (APE) – an alternative physical education for students with disabilities who may not safely or successfully engage in unrestricted participation in the rigorous activities of the regular physical education program.

Assistive Technology Device – any item, piece of equipment, or system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified or customized, that is used to increase, maintain or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.

Audiological Services – the identification and provision of services to students determined to have a hearing loss.

Community Based Instruction – teaching and learning functional skills and activities in the community setting in which these activities would typically occur.

Community Based Vocational Training – job training for students conducted at real work sites/local businesses without pay, with training, support and supervision provided by the school system. 

Counseling Services – services provided by qualified social workers, psychologists, and guidance counselors or otherwise qualified personnel.

Developmental Delay – an exceptionality in which children, ages 3 through 9 and identified as experiencing significant delays in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development or adaptive development.

Exceptional (disabled; gifted; talented) Student – a student who is evaluated in accordance with specific regulations and is determined, according to the Louisiana Department of Education Pupil Appraisal Handbook (formerly Bulletin 1508) (www.doe.state.la.us) , to have an exceptionality which significantly affects educational performance to the extent that special education is needed.

Extended School Year Program (ESYP) – the provision of educational and related services to students with disabilities in excess of the 180-day school year. 

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) – Special education and related services that are provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction to meet the needs of exceptional students including pre-school, elementary and secondary school in conformity with the IEP.

Generic Class – an instructional setting within the continuum of services to exceptional students.  A generic class may include students with different disabilities.

Inclusive Education – the inclusion or mainstreaming of exceptional students, when appropriate into non-exceptional settings in the school and community. 

Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) – an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the public agency responsible for the education of the student in question.

Individualized Education Program (IEP) – a written statement for each student with an exceptionality developed at a meeting by a representative of the local educational agency who shall oversee the specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of the students with exceptionalities.

Individual Transition Plan (ITP) – the document to record a coordinated set of activities for a student which promotes movement from school to post-school activities.

Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities – students between the ages of birth and three years of age who have been determined eligible for early intervention services according to the Louisiana Department of Education Pupil Appraisal Handbook (formerly Bulletin 1508). 

Instruction in Regular Class – an alternative education setting for eligible exceptional students who receive special education and related services less than 21 percent of the school day outside the regular classroom.

Interagency Agreement – an operational statement between two or more parties or agencies (including parents) that describes a course of action that will provide services to the student to which the parties are committed.

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) – the educational placement of an exceptional child that offers the maximum benefits with a minimum of restrictions to involvement with non-exceptional peers.

Multidisciplinary Evaluation – an evaluation of a child, ages birth to 21 years in all areas of suspected disability or exceptionality through a systemic process of review, examination, interpretation, and analysis of screening data, developmental status, intervention efforts, observations, test results, as required and other assessment information relative to the predetermined criteria.

Occupational Therapy (as a related service) – the improvement, development or restoration or specific impairments lost through illness, injury or deprivation.

Orientation and Mobility Training – Services provided to blind or visually impaired students by qualified personnel to enable those students to attain systematic orientation to and safe movement within their environments.

Paraeducator (teacher aide) – a person who assists in the delivery of special education services under the supervision of a special education teacher or other professional who has the responsibility for the delivery of special education services to exceptional students.

Physical Therapy (PT) (as a related service) – the evaluation, planning and implementation of strategies for students in order to maintain motor function to enable the student to function in his/her educational environment.

Psychological Service – the planning and management of a program of psychological services including the administration and interpretation of relevant tests, psychological counseling and behavior evaluations.

Pupil Appraisal Personnel – professional personnel such as social workers, school psychologists and speech therapists who are responsible for the evaluation of students who are suspected of being exceptional (disabled, gifted, talented).

Related Service – the services that are required to assist an exceptional student to benefit from special education.  Related services include speech/hearing/language services and audiological services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, orientation and mobility training and others.

Resource Room – a type of educational setting where students spend between 21 – 60% of their day for special education and related services designed or adapted as a location where exceptional students may receive all or part of the special education required by the IEP.

School Building Level Committee (SBLC) – a committee of at least three school level staff members constituted as a decision making group who meet on a scheduled basis to receive referrals from teachers, parents, or other professionals on individual students who are experiencing difficulty in school due to academic and/or behavior problems.

Self-Contained Special Education Class – a type of alternative education setting in which special education instruction and related services are provided outside the regular classroom with more than 60 percent of the school day.

Severe or Low Incidence Impairment – these impairments may include moderate, severe and profound mental disabilities, multiple disabilities, autism, blindness, deafness, deaf-blindness, emotional/behavioral disorders, orthopedic impairments and traumatic brain injury.

Special Education – any program of instruction within the preschool, elementary and secondary school structure of the State, specifically designed by providing different learning styles of exceptional students.

Speech Therapy Program – a service delivery pattern in which exceptional students receive speech/hearing/language intervention services as specified by the IEP when the speech disorder is identified according to the Louisiana State of Education Pupil Appraisal Handbook (formerly Bulletin 1508).

Supplemental Aids and Services – any modification to the regular educational program the IEP committee determines that the student needs to facilitate his/her education in the regular educational environment.

Support Services – those services provided by trained personnel to regular education students who are not suspected of being exceptional but are experiencing difficulty in their educational performance.  The purpose of support services is to investigate a student’s instructional/behavioral needs based on classroom curricula demands.

Transition – the period of time initiated by the age of 16, earlier if appropriate, where a formal plan is written for the future that describes the steps needed to assist the student in securing an independent and typical adult life.

Transition Services – a coordinated set of activities, designed within an outcome oriented process, which promotes movement from school to post-school activities based on the needs of the student.

Transitional Assessment – gathering formal and informal information to assist in providing programming information in the targeted areas for transition planning.

Transportation – the type of vehicular transportation necessary to implement each service written in the IEP of an exceptional student so that the student can access the services delineated on the IEP.

Vocational Education – organized educational program which relate directly to the preparation of individuals for paid or unpaid employment or for additional preparation for a career requiring other than a baccalaureate or advanced degree.

Voluntarily Enrolled Nonpublic School Student – an exceptional student or a student suspected of being exceptional, who is enrolled in a participating nonpublic school program at the choice of his or her parent(s) and after parent(s) have been provided full and effective notice by the school board of its obligation and willingness to provide a free appropriate public education.

Many of the definitions listed above are excerpts from the Regulations for Implementation of the Exceptional Children’s Act (Bulletin 1706) found on the Louisiana State Department of Education/Special Populations website.