What are the most common special education acronyms?

The ones you'll hear in almost every meeting are IEP (Individualized Education Program), IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education), LRE (Least Restrictive Environment), PLAAFP (present levels of academic achievement and functional performance), SDI (specially designed instruction) and PWN (prior written notice).

What is the difference between PLAAFP and PLOP?

They mean the same section of the IEP. PLAAFP is the current federal term, present levels of academic achievement and functional performance. PLOP (present levels of performance) is an older name that many schools still use.

Is it okay to ask the team what an acronym means?

Yes, and you should. You are a member of the IEP team, and the school is supposed to make sure you understand what is being discussed. Asking the team to spell out a term once, or to keep a list on the table, is a reasonable request.

Are special education terms the same in every state?

The federal terms come from IDEA and are used everywhere, but states add their own. Virginia calls school districts school divisions, for example, and Illinois uses the term emotional disability where federal law says emotional disturbance. Some timelines, such as when transition planning starts, also differ by state.

Special Education Acronyms & IEP Terms Glossary

Special education acronyms are everywhere once your child has an IEP. They're in the meeting notice, the evaluation report and the IEP itself. The people at the table use them so often they forget that parents and caregivers don't. I know, because I used them all day on the school side of the table.

If you've ever nodded along to a sentence with four acronyms in it, you're in good company. You're allowed to stop the meeting and ask what something means. That's it. No one expects you to know them all.

The glossary below covers the IEP acronyms and terms that come up most often, in A to Z order. Where I've written a longer guide, it's linked. Each term has its own anchor, so you can send a link straight to it.

Special education acronyms and terms, A to Z

504 plan: A plan under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act for a student whose disability substantially limits a major life activity. It usually lists accommodations and services in the general education setting. See IEP vs. 504 plan.
Accommodation: A change in how your child learns or shows what they know, without changing what they are expected to learn. Extended time and preferential seating are common examples. See accommodations vs. modifications.
ADA Americans with Disabilities Act: A federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability, including in public schools. Families usually meet it alongside Section 504.
Annual review: The IEP team has to review your child's IEP at least once a year to see whether the goals are being met and to revise the plan. You can ask for a meeting sooner.
AT Assistive technology: Any device or service that helps your child function at school, from a pencil grip to a speech-generating device. The IEP team has to consider whether your child needs it.
BIP Behavior intervention plan: A written plan for supporting behaviors that get in the way of learning. It should be built from an FBA and is often attached to the IEP.
Child find: The legal duty every state and school district has to identify, locate and evaluate children who may have a disability and need special education, including children in private schools.
Consent: Your written agreement after the school has explained, in your language, exactly what it wants to do. It is required before an initial evaluation and before services start, and you can revoke it. See procedural safeguards.
DD Developmental delay: An optional eligibility category for young children with significant delays. States choose whether to use it and for which ages, within ages 3 through 9 under federal rules. See the 13 disability categories.
Due process hearing: A formal legal proceeding before an impartial hearing officer to resolve a dispute with the school. If you're considering one, talk with a special education attorney. See advocate vs. attorney.
ED Emotional disturbance: One of the 13 IDEA disability categories, covering certain long-lasting emotional conditions that affect learning. Illinois calls it emotional disability.
Eligibility: The decision about whether your child qualifies for special education. Your child has to have one of the IDEA disabilities and, because of it, need specially designed instruction. See understanding eligibility.
ESY Extended school year: Special education and related services provided beyond the regular school year, as the IEP team decides is needed for FAPE. It is different from summer school. See what ESY is.
Evaluation: The testing and information gathering used to decide whether your child is eligible and what they need. The school needs your consent first. See the school evaluation guide.
FAPE Free appropriate public education: Your child's right to special education and related services at no cost to you, designed to meet their individual needs. See what FAPE is.
FBA Functional behavioral assessment: An assessment that looks at when, where and why a behavior happens, so the team can plan supports that address the reason behind it. When it is done as an individual evaluation of your child, the school generally needs your consent.
General education curriculum: The same curriculum that students without disabilities learn. The IEP has to explain how your child's disability affects their involvement and progress in it.
IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: The federal law that governs special education. It gives eligible children the right to FAPE and gives the parent or legal guardian the rights listed in the procedural safeguards.
IEE Independent educational evaluation: An evaluation by a qualified examiner who doesn't work for the school. If you disagree with the school's evaluation, you can ask for one at public expense.
IEP Individualized Education Program: The written plan for a child who qualifies under IDEA. It covers present levels, annual goals, services, accommodations and placement, and it is reviewed at least once a year.
IEP team: The group that writes the IEP: you, at least one general education teacher and one special education teacher, a district representative, someone who can explain evaluation results, and others who know your child.
LEA Local educational agency: Usually your school district. In Virginia, districts are called school divisions.
LRE Least restrictive environment: The requirement that your child learn alongside students without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate. See least restrictive environment.
Manifestation determination: A review, held within 10 school days of a decision to change a child's placement for a discipline violation, of whether the behavior was caused by the disability (or had a direct and substantial relationship to it) or resulted from the school's failure to follow the IEP.
Mediation: A voluntary, free meeting with an impartial mediator to settle a disagreement with the school. A signed mediation agreement is legally binding.
Modification: A change in what your child is expected to learn or produce, such as fewer test items or an alternate assignment.
MTSS Multi-tiered system of supports: A school-wide framework that gives students more intensive academic or behavior support in tiers. RTI is usually part of it.
OHI Other health impairment: An IDEA category for chronic or acute health conditions, such as ADHD, epilepsy or diabetes, that limit strength, vitality or alertness and affect school performance.
OT Occupational therapy: A related service that can address fine motor skills, handwriting, sensory needs and everyday tasks at school.
PLAAFP or PLOP Present levels of academic achievement and functional performance: The IEP section describing where your child is right now. Goals and services should build from it. See how to read present levels.
Procedural safeguards: Your rights as a parent or legal guardian under IDEA. The school must give you a written notice of them at least once a school year. See procedural safeguards.
Progress report: A report on how your child is doing on each IEP goal. The IEP has to say how often you'll get one, for example quarterly with report cards.
PT Physical therapy: A related service focused on gross motor skills such as walking, balance and moving safely around the school.
PTI Parent training and information center: A federally funded center in each state that helps families of children with disabilities at no cost. Virginia's is PEATC.
PWN Prior written notice: The written explanation the school must give you before it proposes or refuses a change to identification, evaluation, placement or services. See prior written notice.
Reevaluation: A new evaluation at least every three years, sometimes called the triennial, unless you and the school agree it is not needed. It generally cannot happen more than once a year unless you both agree.
Related services: Services that help your child benefit from special education, such as speech-language therapy, OT, PT, counseling or transportation. See school-based vs. medical-model services.
RTI Response to intervention: A process for giving struggling students targeted help and tracking how they respond. The U.S. Department of Education has said RTI cannot be used to delay or deny an evaluation.
SDI Specially designed instruction: Teaching that is adapted in content, method or delivery to meet your child's needs. Federal law defines special education as specially designed instruction, so every IEP includes it.
SEA State educational agency: Your state department of education, such as the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) or the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). It handles state complaints.
SLD Specific learning disability: An IDEA category for a disorder in the basic processes of understanding or using spoken or written language, which can show up as trouble listening, thinking, speaking, reading, writing, spelling or doing math. Dyslexia falls here.
SLP Speech-language pathologist: The professional who evaluates and treats speech, language, voice, fluency and social communication. (That's my background.)
Stay put: The rule that your child stays in their current placement while a due process complaint is pending, unless you and the school agree otherwise.
Transition plan: The part of the IEP that plans for life after high school: education or training, employment and, when appropriate, independent living. Federal law requires it by age 16; some states start earlier.

Terms that work differently by state

IDEA sets the federal floor, and each state writes its own rules on top of it. A few terms here work a little differently depending on where you live:

Transition planning starts earlier than the federal age of 16 in both states I work in most. Virginia requires it by the first IEP in effect when your child turns 14 (8VAC20-81-110), and Illinois starts at age 14½ (ISBE parent guide).
Developmental delay covers children from age 2 (by September 30) through 6 in Virginia (8VAC20-81-10) and ages 3 through 9 in Illinois (ISBE parent guide).
Consent goes further in Virginia, where the parent or legal guardian must agree before any revision to IEP services (8VAC20-81-170).

Using the glossary in an IEP meeting

You don't have to learn every term before a meeting. I'd start with five: IEP, FAPE, LRE, present levels and prior written notice. Those come up in nearly every talk about services and placement. Once you know them, the rest of the paperwork gets easier to follow.

During the meeting, jot down any acronym you don't recognize. Ask about it right then, or save your list for the end. A simple "Can you tell me what that stands for?" is enough. You don't need to apologize for asking. Teachers and therapists use this shorthand all day, and it's easy to forget it isn't everyday language. They aren't trying to lose you. If it would help, ask them to write the terms out in the meeting notes too.

Some acronyms sound alike and mean very different things. IEP and IEE are one letter apart: the first is your child's plan, the second is an outside evaluation you can request. LEA and SEA? That's your district and your state. When a sentence doesn't make sense, check whether you heard the right one. For your next step, pick one question to bring with you from the questions to ask at your child's IEP meeting.

Special education acronyms and IEP terms, in plain language