Use this reference list for staff training and continued learning.
A reference sheet for Parent Centers from the
Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR)
June 2017
This reference list is designed to accompany… | CPIR’s Brief for Parent Centers on Free Appropriate Public Education and the Dear Colleague Letter on FAPE issued by OSEP on November 16, 2015.
Why does CPIR offer this reference list? | It’s very important for Parent Centers and other disability stakeholders to understand how our nation’s special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), defines terms that are central to providing a free appropriate education (FAPE) to eligible children with disabilities. We offer this handy reference list to support your Parent Center work and continuous learning.
The reference list includes the definitions… | … of four acronyms and five key terms often used in IDEA, in the special education field, and in the Dear Colleague Letter on FAPE released by OSEP on November 16, 2015. The acronyms come first and are listed in alphabetical order. These are followed by the key terms, again in alphabetical order.
Acronyms | FAPE, IDEA, IEP, LRE
Terms | Child with a Disability, Individualized Education Program, Related Services, Special Education, Supplementary Aids and Services
Beyond words | For each term, we’ve also identified CPIR resources that are useful in understanding the terms and their impact on children with disabilities. Those CPIR resources can be shared with families because they explain the terms in everyday language.
For your convenience and ease in reading and sharing | In this online version of the reference list, we’ve spread the acronyms, terms, and definitions out across individual pages. This allows you to print out and share how IDEA defines a particular acronym or term and where on the CPIR site (or elsewhere) you can find easy-to-read summaries of the key term/acronym in use.
To print out or share the ENTIRE reference list as one Word or PDF file | See the links at the very top of this page.
Which term or acronym would you like to explore?
Just click any of the links below to jump there immediately.
Individualized Education Program