Definitions And Explanations Of Common Terms Used In This Manual

The following terms are defined in the IDEA and state statutes and implementing regulations.

Accommodations are changes to instruction (such as materials, content enhancements, and tasks) that change how a student learns. Accommodations may include assistive technology devices and services. Accommodations do not fundamentally alter the grade level requirements or course expectations.

Adult Student is an eligible student who has reached the age of majority under state law.

Adverse Effect exists when educational performance is negatively affected because of the manifestation of the student’s disability. Evidence must exist that supports a relationship between the manifestation of the student’s disability and decreased educational performance. While adverse effect on educational performance may imply a marked difference between the student's academic performance and reasonable (not optimal) expectations of performance, the definition of educational performance cannot be limited to academics.

Annual Review means a review of the student’s IEP periodically, but not less than annually (within 365 calendar days) by a PPT, to determine whether the annual goals for the student are being achieved; and revise the IEP, as appropriate, to address: (a) any lack of expected progress toward the annual goals and in the general education curriculum, where appropriate; (b) the results of any reevaluation conducted under this section (c) information about the child provided to or by the parents about additional evaluation data; (d) the child’s anticipated needs; and other matters.

Assistive Technology (AT) Device means any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a student with a disability. The term does not include a medical device that is surgically implanted, or the replacement of such device.

Assistive Technology Service means any service that directly assists a student with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device. The term includes:

• The evaluation of the needs of a student with a disability, including a functional evaluation of the student in the student’s customary environment;
• Purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the acquisition of assistive technology devices for students with disabilities;
• Selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, adapting, applying, maintaining, repairing, or replacing assistive technology devices;
• Coordinating and using other therapies, interventions, or services with assistive technology devices, such as those associated with existing education and rehabilitation plans and programs;
• Training or technical assistance for a student with a disability or, if appropriate, that student’s family; and
• Training or technical assistance for professionals (including individuals providing education or rehabilitation services), employers, or other individuals who provide services to employ, or are otherwise substantially involved in the major life functions of that student.

Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP): A plan, based on data gathered through a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA), which is designed to change and improve a student’s behavior. Appropriate practice suggests that BIPs should include the overall goals to be achieved, interventions intended to change the student’s behavior, the persons responsible for implementing the proposed interventions, and evaluation methods and timelines to be followed.

The Board or the Board of Education means a public body or public agency responsible for the education of children. For the purposes of this manual, the board or board of education means the [insert town name] Board of Education.

Change in Placement: A change in educational placement relates to whether the student is moved from one type of education program (e.g., general education class) to another type (e.g., private special education program). It may also occur when there is significant change in the student’s educational program even if the student remains in the same setting.

Change in Placement for Disciplinary Reasons occurs if:

1. A student has been removed for more than 10 consecutive school days; or
2. A student has been subjected to a series of removals that constitute a pattern because:
   • the series of removals total more than 10 school days in a school year;
   • the student’s behavior is substantially similar to the student’s behavior in previous incidents that resulted in the series of removals; and
   • when additional factors exist such as the length of each removal, the total amount of time the student has been removed, and the proximity of the removals to one another.

Child/Student means any person of the age eligible to receive special education and related services under state regulations.

Child Find is an IDEA requirement that all children with disabilities residing in the State who are in need of special education and related services are identified, located, and evaluated.

Child with a Disability means a child who (A) is age three, four or five or has attained the age at which the town is required to provide educational opportunities in accordance with state law and who meets the criteria for special education and related services in accordance with the IDEA, or (B) is age three, four or five and is experiencing developmental delay that causes such child to require special education.

Consent (Informed) means that the parent or adult student:

• Has been fully informed of all information relevant to the activity for which consent is sought, in his or her native language, or other mode of communication;
• Understands and agrees in writing to the carrying out of the activity for which his or her consent is sought, and the consent describes that activity and lists the records (if any) that will be released and to whom; and
• Understands that the granting of consent is voluntary and may be revoked at any time. If a parent/adult student revokes consent, that revocation is not retroactive (i.e., it does not negate an action that has occurred after the consent was given and before the consent was revoked).

CT-SEDS means the Connecticut Special Education Data System.

Developmental Delay: A significant delay in one or more of the following areas: (A) physical development; (B) communication development; (C) cognitive development; (D) social or emotional development; or (E) adaptive development, as measured by appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures and demonstrated by scores obtained on an appropriate norm-referenced standardized diagnostic instrument.

The District or School District means [insert your school district name].

Education Record: Education records are records that are directly related to a student and that are maintained by an educational agency or institution or a party acting for or on behalf of the agency or institution. These records include but are not limited to grades, transcripts, class lists, student course schedules, health records (at the K-12 level), student financial information (at the postsecondary level), and student discipline files. The information may be recorded in any way, including, but not limited to, handwriting, print, computer media, videotape, audiotape, film, microfilm, microfiche, and e-mail. The Bureau of Special Education recognizes and adopts the definition of Education Records consistent with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Escort means the minimum contact necessary to safely escort a person from one area to another through temporary touching or holding for the purpose of guiding or inducing a student to walk to another location. Carrying or forcibly moving a person from one location to another is a "physical restraint."

Evaluation means the summative results of the evaluation procedures, including assessments, used to determine whether a student is a student with a disability and the nature and extent of the special education and related services that the student needs.

Evaluation Procedures means the use of a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic information about the student, including information provided by the parent that may assist in determining whether the student is a student with a disability and, if so, the content of the student’s IEP.

Exclusionary Time Out means a temporary, continuously monitored separation of a student from an ongoing activity in a non-locked setting for the purpose of calming such student or deescalating such student's behavior. An exclusionary time out becomes a reportable "seclusion" if or when the student is physically, or otherwise prohibited from leaving the space.

Expedited Due Process Hearing is an administrative hearing conducted by an SDE-appointed hearing officer to resolve disputes concerning discipline for which shortened timelines are in effect in accordance with the IDEA.

Extended School Year (ESY) Services means special education and related services that are provided to a student with a disability beyond the district’s normal school calendar year, in accordance with the student’s IEP, and at no cost to the parent or student.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is the federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) means special education and related services that are provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge; meet the standards of the State Department of Education, including the requirements of the IDEA; include an appropriate preschool, elementary school, or secondary school education in Connecticut; and are provided in conformity with an IEP. See also Chapter 1 of this manual.

Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) is a problem-solving process designed to address a student's behavior, when that behavior impedes the learning of the student with a disability as well as the learning of his or her peers. It is intended to guide the PPT in making data-based decisions about how to assist students, by looking beyond the observable behavior and focusing on the function or the "why" of the behavior.

Gifted and Talented means a child identified by the gifted and talented PPT as (A) possessing demonstrated or potential abilities that give evidence of very superior intellectual, creative or specific academic capability and (B) needing differentiated instruction or services beyond those being provided in the general education program in order to realize the child’s intellectual, creative or specific academic potential. This term shall include children with extraordinary learning ability and children with outstanding talent in the creative arts. Extraordinary learning ability means a child identified by the planning and placement team as gift instruments, on the basis of either performance on relevant standardized instruments, or demonstrated or potential achievement or intellectual creativity, or both. Outstanding talent in the creative arts means a child identified by the gifted and talented PPT as gifted and talented on the basis of demonstrated or potential achievement in music, the visual arts or the performing arts.

Homebound and Hospitalized Instruction is the provision of instruction in a non-school setting for a verified medical reason. A board of education shall provide instruction to a child in a public school under the jurisdiction of such board when such child is unable to attend school due to a verified medical reason which may include mental health issues. This is distinct from Instruction in the Home (see definition below).

Homeless Children and Youth means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes:

1. Children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals;
2. Children and youth who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
3. Children and youth who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
4. Migratory children who qualify as homeless because the children are living in circumstances described in 1-3 above.

Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) means an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the school district responsible for the public education of the child.

Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at Public Expense: The IDEA establishes procedural safeguards, one of which is the right of a parent to request an IEE at public expense if a parent disagrees with an evaluation obtained by a school district. A parent’s right to an IEE at public expense is subject to various conditions outlined in the implementing regulations to the IDEA. At public expense means that the school district either pays for the full cost of the evaluation or ensures that the evaluation is otherwise provided at no cost to the parent.

Individualized Education Program (IEP) means a written document, developed by a PPT, which documents the specialized instruction and related services for an eligible student with a disability. The IEP is developed, reviewed, and revised at a PPT meeting, at least annually.

Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP): A written individualized plan for an eligible infant or toddler (i.e., birth to three years of age) with a disability that is developed by a PPT, under Part C of the IDEA.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law that makes FAPE available to eligible children with disabilities throughout the United States and ensures special education and related services to those children. The IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to eligible infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities. Infants and toddlers, birth through age 2, with disabilities and their families receive services under IDEA Part C. In Connecticut, children and youth aged 3 through the end of the school year during which the student turns age 22 may receive special education and related services under IDEA Part B.

Initial Evaluation: The evaluation procedures that are conducted in accordance with the IDEA to determine whether a student has a disability and the nature and extent of the special education and -related services that the child needs.

Initial Provision of Service means the first time a parent is offered special education and related services for their child after an initial evaluation and eligibility determination.

Interim Alternative Educational Setting (IAES) is the educational setting in which a district may place a student with a disability, for not more than 45 school days, if the student while at school, on school premises, or at a school function carries a weapon or possess a weapon; knowingly possesses, uses, sells or solicits the sale of illegal drugs or controlled substances; or has inflicted serious bodily injury upon another person. An IAES may also be ordered by a hearing officer based upon evidence that maintaining the current placement is substantially likely to result in injury to the student or others.

Instruction in the Home is a placement option available under the IDEA, if determined appropriate by the student’s PPT. In accordance with the IDEA, the child’s PPT may determine that the child requires instruction in the home in order to receive FAPE, after considering in-district supports and other LRE considerations, evaluation information, and input from any private supports. In this case, the PPT would be making a placement decision pursuant to the IDEA, and not under homebound and hospitalized instruction.

Language and Communication Plan is a required plan developed by the PPT and included in the IEP, pursuant to state law, for any student identified as deaf or hard of hearing. The plan must address: (1) the primary language or mode of communication chosen for the child, (2) opportunities for direct communication with peers and professional personnel in the primary language or mode of the child, (3) educational options available to the child, (4) the qualifications of teachers and other personnel administering such plan for the child, including such teacher’s or personnel’s proficiency in the primary language or mode of communication for the child, (5) the accessibility of academic instruction, school services and extracurricular activities to the child, (6) assistive devices and services for the child, (7) communication and physical accommodations for the child, and (8) an emergency communication plan that includes procedures for alerting the child of an emergency situation and ensuring that the specific needs of the child are met during the emergency situation.

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) is the IDEA requirement that students with disabilities, including those in public or private institutions or other care facilities, be educated with students who are nondisabled to the maximum extent appropriate.

Local Educational Agency (LEA) means a public board of education or other public authority legally constituted within a state for either administrative control or direction of, or to perform a service function for, public elementary or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision of a state, or for a combination of school districts or counties as are recognized in a state as an administrative agency for its public elementary schools or secondary schools. For the purposes of this manual, local educational agency means, [insert your school district name].

Manifestation Determination is a determination by the PPT about whether the conduct in question was caused or had a direct and substantial relationship to the student’s disability or if the conduct in question was the direct result of the school district’s failure to implement the student’s IEP.

Modifications are changes to the content which affect what the student learns. Modifications include changes in the curricular content standards or the performance expectations.

Native Language when used with respect to an individual who has limited English proficiency, means: the language normally used by that individual, or, in the case of a child, the language normally used by the parents of the child. In all direct contact with a child (including evaluation of the child), the native language is the language normally used by the child in the home or learning environment.

Nonacademic and Extracurricular Services and Activities may include counseling services, athletics, transportation, health services, recreational activities, special interest groups or clubs sponsored by the district, referrals to agencies that provide assistance to individuals with disabilities, and employment of students, including both employment by the district and assistance in making outside employment available.

Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP): A federal agency dedicated to improving results for students with disabilities, birth through the end of the school year during which the student turns age 22, by providing leadership, oversight, and financial support to assist states and local districts.

Parent(s) means a biological or adoptive parent, guardian, surrogate parent as defined by Connecticut statute, or an individual acting in the place of a biological or adoptive parent (including a grandparent, stepparent, or other relative) with whom the student lives or an individual who is legally responsible for the student’s welfare. The rights of the parent under the IDEA shall transfer to a student who has reached the age of 18, except as provided in the state regulation about the transfer of rights.

Parentally-Placed Private School Students (PPPSS) are children with disabilities enrolled by their parents in private, including religious, schools or facilities that meet the definition of an elementary school or secondary school.

Personally Identifiable Information includes but is not limited to, the student’s name, name of the parent or other family member; the student’s or parent’s address; a personal identifier such as the student’s social security number or student number; or a list of personal characteristics or other information that would make it possible to identify the student with reasonable certainty.

Physical Restraint means any mechanical or personal restriction that immobilizes or reduces the free movement of a person's arms, legs, or head, including, but not limited to, carrying or forcibly moving a person from one location to another.

The term does not include:

• Briefly holding a person in order to calm or comfort the child;
• The minimum contact necessary to safely escort a person from one area to another;
• Medical devices, including, but not limited to, supports prescribed by a health care provider to achieve proper body position or balance;
• Helmets or other protective gear used to protect a person from injuries due to a fall; or
• Helmets, mitts, and similar devices used to prevent self-injury when the device is:
  • part of a documented treatment plan or individualized education program pursuant to the Connecticut General Statutes Section (C.G.S.) 10-76d; or
  • prescribed or recommended by a medical professional, as defined in C.G.S. Section 38a-976, and is the least restrictive means available to prevent such self-injury.

Planning and Placement Team (PPT) is the Connecticut specific term for the individualized education program team as defined in the IDEA and who participate equally in the decision-making process to determine the specific educational needs of the child with a disability and develop an individualized education program (IEP) for the child. For the purposes of the evaluation, identification or determination of the specific educational needs of a child who may be gifted or talented, the PPT means a group of certified or licensed professionals who represent each of the teaching, administrative and pupil personnel staffs, and who participate equally in the decision-making process.

Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) means a framework to address challenging behaviors that includes functional assessment of the behavior, organizing the environment, teaching skills, rewarding positive behaviors, anticipating situations, monitoring the effect of interventions, and redesigning interventions as necessary.

Present Levels of Performance means a statement of the student’s current level of achievement or development in an area of need and how the student’s disability affects the student’s involvement and progress in the general education curriculum.

Reevaluation means the evaluation procedures that are conducted to review or reestablish the extent, if any, of the special education and related services that the child requires. A reevaluation includes any evaluation conducted after the initial evaluation, including targeted assessments and three-year reevaluations.

Related Services means transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education, and includes speech-language pathology and audiology services, interpreting services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, early identification and assessment of disabilities in children, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, and medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes. Related services also include school health services and school nurse services, social work services in schools, and parent counseling and training. Related services do not include a medical device that is surgically implanted, including cochlear implants, the optimization of that device’s functioning (e.g., mapping), maintenance of that device, or the replacement of that device.

School Day means any day, including a partial day that children are in attendance at school for instructional purposes or any day which is recognized by the school district related to the student participating in educational activities in a virtual manner. School day has the same meaning for all children in school, including children with and without disabilities.⁴

School Year means the period beginning July 1 and ending June 30.

Scientific Researched-Based Intervention (SRBI) is Connecticut’s framework for Response to Intervention (RTI). A general education model that refers to a tiered approach to instruction and behavioral support services. The model is used to promote the early identification of students who may be at risk for learning or behavioral difficulties.

Seclusion means the involuntary confinement of a student in a room from which the student is physically prevented from leaving. Seclusion does not include an exclusionary time out.

Services Plan means a written statement that describes the special education and related services the district will provide to a parentally-placed child with a disability enrolled in a private school who has been designated to receive services, including the location of the services and any transportation necessary, and is developed and implemented in accordance with the IDEA.

Special Education means specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability, including instruction conducted in the classroom, in the home, virtual instruction if recognized by the district, in hospitals and institutions, in other settings, and instruction in physical education.

Special education also includes speech-language pathology services, travel training and vocational education if they meet the requirements of being specially designed instruction. Pursuant to state law, speech and language services can be a special education service.

Specially Designed Instruction means adapting the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction, as appropriate, to address the unique needs of an eligible student that result from the student’s disability and to ensure access to the general education curriculum, so that the student can meet the educational standards within the jurisdiction of the school district that apply to all students.

Summary of Performance (SOP) is a summary of a student’s academic achievement and functional performance, which must include recommendations on how to assist the student in meeting the student’s postsecondary goals. A SOP is required for each student with an IEP whose eligibility for services under IDEA terminates due to graduation from secondary school with a regular high school diploma or due to exceeding the age of eligibility for FAPE under state law.

Supplementary Aids and Services means aids, services, and other supports that are provided in general education classes, other education-related settings, and in extracurricular and nonacademic settings, to enable children with disabilities to be educated and participate with nondisabled children to the maximum extent appropriate.

Surrogate Parent is an individual appointed by the state to represent the student in all matters relating to the identification, evaluation, educational placement, and the provision of FAPE for the student. A surrogate parent has the same legal rights afforded to parents with respect to special education and related services.

Transition Services means a coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability that:

1. Is designed to be within a results-oriented process, focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the child with a disability to facilitate the child’s movement from school to post-school activities, including postsecondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation; and
2. Is based on the individual child’s needs, taking into account the child’s strengths, preferences, and interests and includes:
   • instruction;
   • related services;
   • community experiences;
   • the development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives; and
   • if appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and provision of a functional vocational evaluation.

Transition services for children with disabilities may be special education, if provided as specially designed instruction, or a related service, if required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education.

Ward of the State means a student who, as determined by the state where the child lives, is a foster child, considered a ward of the state, or is in the custody of a public child welfare agency.

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4. 34 CFR § 300.11(c)(2)