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This Special Education Terminology 101 session is designed for you - the beginning teacher. You have completed your internship and received your BS degree in education. Still, you'll find your first year of teaching is your greatest learning curve, particularly in reference to your special education students. How will you meet their special needs? What is your function at their scheduled meetings? New Teachers may feel overwhelmed and intimidated when attending their first IEP (Individual Education Plan) meeting. Listening to seasoned special education people converse is like hearing a foreign language, computer lingo or military jargon - incomprehensible to the novice listener.

Consider sitting at the table of your first IEP meeting and hearing the staffing specialist say, "We have a huge job with this new RtI emphasis. LEAs need organize an S-BIT first. We don't want any repercussions from the REDs. We can't just fix a child with a quick CBE and label them EBD or SLD. We need to follow ESE procedure and respect NCLB and IDEA."

The exaggerated example above can be translated to read, "We have a huge job with this new Response to Intervention emphasis. Local Education Agents need organize a School Based Response to Intervention Team first. We don't want any repercussions from the Regional Education Directors. We can't just fix a child with a quick Curriculum Based Evaluation and label them Emotional/Behavioral Disabled or Specific Learning Disabled. We need to follow Exceptional Student Education procedure and respect No Child Left Behind and the Individuals With Disabilities Act." Obviously, this expanded version is too lengthy and just as overwhelming to the uninformed listener.

Like cell phone text message abbreviations, acronyms help simplify communication within the special education realm. Initially, the novice listener may feel that they entered a door to another dimension, but new teachers will soon find themselves navigating the special education language smoothly if they take the time to be informed. Consider the following a brief course in Special Education Terminology 101.

BIP (Behavior Intervention Plan) - A BIP is completed by the guidance counselor with an assembled team to discuss target behaviors and plan interventions. An intervention is what you will do to help your student overcome their behavioral problem. Emotional/behavioral disabled children will have a BIP in place, and their IEP (individual education

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