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Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) – Report developed annually by the TEA Division of Performance Reporting that provides a wide range of performance information about every public school and district in Texas. Indicators compiled in the ratings include the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, attendance and dropout rates, and extensive profile information about staff, finances, and programs.
Access to the General Curriculum – Students with disabilities must have the opportunity to study the same contents and materials—and meet similar standards of success—as their age-appropriate peers, with the help of necessary supports and adaptations, as mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB). In Texas, the General Curriculum is the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
Accommodations – Tools and procedures that provide equal access to instruction and assessment for students with disabilities. Designed to "level the playing field" for students with disabilities, accommodations are generally grouped into the following categories:
• Presentation (e.g., repeat directions, read aloud, use of larger bubbles on answer sheets, etc.)
• Response (e.g., mark answers in book, use reference aids, point, use of computer, etc.)
• Timing/Scheduling (e.g., extended time, frequent breaks, etc.)
• Setting (e.g., study carrel, special lighting, separate room, etc.).
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) – Under the accountability provisions in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, all public school campuses, school districts, and the state are evaluated for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Districts, campuses, and the state are required to meet AYP criteria on three measures: Reading/Language Arts, Mathematics, and either Graduation Rate (for high schools and districts) or Attendance Rate (for elementary and middle/junior high schools). http://www.tea.state.tx.us/ayp/
Adult Student – Students over the age of 18 are considered an adult unless a parent or other person has been granted guardianship.
Alternative Education Programs (AEP) – Disciplinary settings operated by school districts for students who have committed an offense that is identified in state law or the student code of conduct. AEPs operated by the school district are called DAEPs or Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs. Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Programs or JJAEPs are operated by the juvenile justice system. Students with disabilities who are placed in AEPs are entitled to special education supports and services.
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) – A civil rights law that protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination in the workplace, as well as school and other settings.
Annual Federal Data Report – Data on students with disabilities in Texas submitted to the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) on an annual basis.
Annual Performance Report (APR) – Comprehensive report compiled annually by the State education agency and submitted to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) for a variety of purposes, including ongoing monitoring of the implementation of Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This report provides: 1) a comparison of actual accomplishments to the objectives established for the reporting period; 2) reasons for slippage if established objectives are not met; and 3) additional pertinent information, including future activities. Beginning in February 2007, an APR will be submitted annually through the 2010-1011 school year.
ARD Committee (Admission, Review and Dismissal) – In Texas, the name for the group made up of a student’s parents and school staff who meet at least annually to decided whether or not the student has an eligible disability and what special education and related services will be provided. Its major responsibility is the development of the individual education program (IEP) for students receiving special education. In Texas, the meetings of these committees are called “ARD meetings.”
ARD Meeting (Admission, Review, and Dismissal) - Annual review of a student’s special education program that includes an update of the student’s progress, a review of the current IEP, and development of a new Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for the upcoming year. (See ARD Committee.)
AskTED – Online directory that provides current organizational and mailing information for Texas public schools (including charter schools and Texas state agency schools), school districts and regional education service centers. http://askted.tea.state.tx.us/
Assessment – Tests given to all students to evaluate learning. The most common statewide assessment in Texas is the TAKS, The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. Most students with disabilities take the same statewide assessment as all other students unless the ARD Committees determines that the student will use an alternative assessment tool.
Assistive Technology – An item or piece of equipment that is used to increase or maintain the function of a student with a disability. Assistive technology devices can include seating and mobility devices, augmentative communication devices, computer access, environmental controls, adaptive toys and games, visual and listening aids and self-care items.
Auditory Impairment (AI) – Hearing impairment that includes any degree of hearing loss ranging from mild to profound and resulting in a diagnosis of hard of hearing or deaf.
Autism (AU) – A complex developmental disorder that appears in the first 3 years of life, although it is sometimes diagnosed much later. It affects the brain’s normal development of social and communication skills. Autism is a spectrum that encompasses a wide range of behavior. The common features include impaired social interactions, impaired verbal and nonverbal communication, and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior.
Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) – A plan to address problem behavior that includes, as appropriate, positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and supports; program modifications; and supplementary aids and services that may be required to address the problem behavior.
Center for Academic & Reading Skills (CARS) – Established in 1996 at The University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston Department of Pediatrics, this research facility examines the elements of instructional programs designed to improve academic and reading development, with emphasis on identifying the elements of reading programs that best facilitate reading development in a variety of student populations. In addition to its research programs, CARS is developing a clearinghouse for the dissemination of research-based information on reading and other academic skills. http://cars.uth.tmc.edu/
Child Find – Ongoing activities undertaken by states and local school districts to locate, identify, and evaluate all children residing in the state who are suspected of having disabilities so that a free appropriate public education (FAPE) can be made available to them.
Child with a Disability – A child who has a disability as defined in one of the 13 disability categories in IDEA and who needs special education and related services because of the disability; or a child aged 3 through 9 who is experiencing developmental delay.
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) – Codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government. It is divided into 50 titles that represent broad areas subject to Federal regulation. Each volume of the CFR is updated once each calendar year and is issued on a quarterly basis.
Community of Practice – Groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.
Community Resource Coordination Group (CRCG) – Local interagency groups composed of representatives from public and private agencies that develop service plans for children and adolescents whose needs can be met only through interagency coordination and cooperation.
Complaint – Written action taken to notify the Texas Education Agency (the state education agency) that special education regulations are not being followed by the school district. Parent Information Line: 1-800-252-9668.
Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) – Serves to improve the quality of educational services and programs for students with disabilities through recruitment, preparation and retention of highly qualified special education teachers and personnel. Region VI Education Service Center is the lead for the CSPD and is the first point of contact regarding CSPD-related data and issues for Texas.
Consent – Written permission required before the school evaluates a student for special education services for the first time, places a student in the special education program for the first time, and reevaluates the student to determine the continued need for special education services. Written consent is also needed before the school can release confidential information from a student’s education records, except when releasing records to another school district because the student intends to or has enrolled in the district, for the purpose of educational programming. Consent is voluntary and may be withdrawn at any time.
Consortium for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE) – An organization that encourages and supports parents, educators, and administrators in the use of mediation and other collaborative strategies to resolve disagreements about special education and early intervention programs. http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/
Continuous Improvement and Focused Monitoring System (CIFMS) and Continuous Improvement Monitoring Process (CIMP) – Accountability measures developed and implemented by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to monitor IDEA compliance in each state and ultimately drive and support improved results for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities.
Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP)– A cohesive, integrated plan geared toward improved results for students with disabilities and which includes planned corrections for any instances of non-compliance identified. The CIP is analysis-driven and results-based.
Courses of Study – Middle and high school course work (or classes) that lead to a certain type of diploma and/or are required for post-secondary education.
Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) – A nonpartisan, nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions. CCSSO provides leadership, advocacy, and technical assistance on major educational issues; seeks member consensus on major educational issues; and expresses its views to civic and professional organizations, federal agencies, Congress, and the public. http://www.ccsso.org/
Curriculum Based Measurement – Tools for measuring student competency and progress in the basic skill areas of reading fluency, spelling, mathematics and written language.
Data Analysis System (DAS) – An application that allows users to create tables of estimates using Department of Education survey data.
Deaf-Blind (DB) – A combination of hearing and visual losses. Under IDEA, students are classified as “deaf-blind” if they have “such severe communication and other developmental and learning needs that the persons cannot be appropriately educated in special education programs solely for children and youth with hearing impairments, visual impairments or severe disabilities, without supplementary assistance to address their educational needs due to these dual, concurrent disabilities”.
Developmental Delay – A disability category states may use for certain students aged three through nine as a way to provide early services for students suspected of having a disability. If used, the definition of developmental delay is determined by the state and may include a child whose development, as measured by appropriate diagnostic tests and procedures, lags behind peers in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development, and who, because of such delays, needs special education and related services.
Disability Categories – IDEA disability categories include autism, deaf-blindness, deafness, emotional disturbance, hearing impairment, mental retardation, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment (e.g., asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia), specific learning disability, (e.g., Perceptual Disabilities, Brain Injury, Minimal Brain Dysfunction, Dyslexia, Developmental Aphasia), speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, visual impairment (including blindness), and developmental delay.
Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) – Established under the Safe Schools Act to serve students who have committed disciplinary offenses. A DAEP provides for the educational and behavioral needs of students in a setting other than a student’s regular classroom, either on- or off-campus.
Disproportionality -- A monitoring indicator, related to the State Performance Plan (SPP), that looks at the percent of districts with disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in 1)special education and related services and 2)specific disability categories that is the result of inappropriate identification.
Due Process Complaint – A written complaint filed by a parent or a school district involving any matter relating to the identification, evaluation, educational placement or provision of a free, appropriate, public education to a student with a disability. Due process complaints must be filed within two years of the matter in dispute.
Due Process Hearing – A formal legal procedure used to solve disagreements concerning the education of students who receive special education supports and services. An impartial hearing officer provided by the Texas Education Agency conducts the hearing and makes decisions about the issues.
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Texas Project FIRST is an activity of the Texas Continuing Improvement Process (TCIP) under the auspices of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Region 9 Education Service Center, and is focused on helping to fulfill the goals of TEA and the Parent Training Committee
TEA Parent Information Line 1-800-252-9668
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