Special Education Key Terms

Special Education Key Terms and Definitions

0. Disability   an inability to do something; a diminished capacity to perform in a specific way.
0. Handicap a disadvantage imposed on an individual .
0. Prevalence the percentage of a population or number of individuals who have a particular exceptionality.
0. Special Education specially designed instruction that meets the unusual needs of an exceptional student.
0. Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) a legal term referring to the fact that exceptional children must be educated in as normal an environment as possible.
0. Regular Education Initiative a philosophy that maintains that general education, rather than special education, should be primarily responsible for the education of students with disabilities.
0. Inclusive Schools Movement a reform movement designed to restructure general education schools and classrooms so they better accommodate all students including those with disabilities.
0. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) civil rights legislation for persons with disabilities that ensures nondiscrimination in a broad range of activities.
0. Individualized Education Plan (IEP) a plan for each exceptional child that includes the present level of performance, instructional goals, educational services, and criteria and procedures for determining that objectives are being met.
0. Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) a plan to provide services for young children with disabilities and the families of those children that includes assessment and statement of goals, needed services, plans for implementation, family involvement, coordination of services, and transition into preschool.
0. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) a federal law stating that to receive funds under the act, every school system in the nation must provide free, appropriate public education for every child between the ages of three and twenty-one, regardless of how or how seriously he or she may be disabled.
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