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Education Terminology - NASB
Education Terminology - NASB
This list is intended to grow and change. If you believe there are terms that should be added,
dropped or revised, please e-mail bkroger@nasbonline.org.
General Education Terminology
ACT —American College Testing (a standardized test for high school achievement and college
admissions)
ADA —Americans with Disabilities Act (enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1990 to “establish a
clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability”)
ADD —Attention Deficit Disorder (see ADHD)
ADHD —Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (also referred to ADD, is a biological, brain
based condition that is characterized by poor attention and distractibility and/or hyperactive
and impulsive behaviors)
ADM – Average Daily Membership (the total number of school days within a given term ‐
usually a school month or school year ‐ that a student's name is on the current roll of a class,
regardless of his/her being present or absent, is the "number of days in membership" for that
student; the sum of the "number of days in membership" for all students divided by the
number of school days in the term yields ADM; the final average daily membership is the total
days in membership for all students over the school year divided by the number of days school
was in session; ADM is one of the factors used in figuring state funding for public schools)
AEP —Alternative Education Program (§79‐266, enacted by the Nebraska Legislature in 1997,
requires each school district to have an alternative school, class, or educational program
available or in operation for all expelled students; programs are designed to meet the needs of
at‐risk students who are not succeeding in the traditional setting)
ARRA —American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (an economic stimulus package enacted by
the 111th U.S. Congress in February, 2009)
AYP —Adequate Yearly Progress (a statewide accountability system mandated by the No Child
Left Behind Act of 2001; allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every
public school and school district in the country is performing academically according to results
on standardized tests)
BD —Behavior Disorders (sometimes referred to as disruptive behavior disorders, include
mental health problems with a focus on behaviors that both identify emotional problems and
create interpersonal and social problems for children and adolescents in the course of their
development)
CETA —Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (was enacted by Congress in 1973 to
consolidate a number of existing federal job training programs to help unemployed,
underemployed, and disadvantaged individuals; prior to CETA, federal job training was
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fragmented and complex, with numerous programs targeting specific groups, such as
disadvantaged youths, unemployed older adults, or welfare recipients)
CIP —Continuous Improvement Process (a systematic on‐going process that guides the
planning, implementation, evaluation and renewal of school improvement activities to
meet local and statewide goals and priorities; focuses on improving student learning; includes a
periodic review by visiting educators who provide consultation to the local school/community
in continued accomplishment of plans and goals)
Class II School District —any school district embracing territory having a population of 1,000
inhabitants or less that maintains both elementary and high school grades under the direction
of a single school board.
Class III School District —any school district embracing territory having a population of more
than 1,000 and less than 150,000 inhabitants that maintains both elementary and high school
grades under the direction of a single school board.
Class IV School District —any school district having territory embraced within an incorporated
city of the primary class that is not in part within the boundaries of a learning community.
(Lincoln only)
Class V School District —any school district embraced entirely within an incorporated city of
the metropolitan class. (Omaha only)
EAHCA —Education for All Handicapped Children Act (enacted by the United States Congress in
1975. This act required all public schools accepting federal funds to provide equal access to
education for children with physical and mental disabilities)
ELL or LEP —English Language Learner or Limited English Proficient (refers to students whose
native language is not English)
ESEA —Elementary and Secondary Education Act (originally enacted by Congress in 1965 to
provide federally funded education programs that are administered by the states; was
reauthorized in 2001 as the No Child Left Behind Act; includes Title I [Improving Academic
Achievement of the Disadvantaged], Title II [Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High Quality
Teachers and Principals], Title III [Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and
Immigrant Students], Title IV [21st Century Schools], Title VI [Flexibility and Accountability –
AYP], Title VII [Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education], and Title X [Repeals,
Redesignations, and Amendments to Other Statutes – Homeless Education])
ESL —English as a Second Language (refers to the use or study of English by speakers with a
different native language)
ESU —Educational Service Units (created by the Nebraska Legislature in 1965 to provide
supplemental services to school districts)
Exempt Schools — In Nebraska, "home schools" are referred to as exempt schools and are
considered non‐approved or non‐accredited schools
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FAPE —Free Appropriate Public Education (defined in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which
protects the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive federal
funds)
FERPA —Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (a Federal law that protects the privacy of
student education records)
FLSA — Fair Labor Standards Act (establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and
youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in Federal, State,
and local governments)
FOIA – Freedom of Information Act (federal legislation enacted in 1966 to ensure public access
to U.S. government records, reflected in Nebraska Public Records statutes §84‐712 – 84‐712.09)
FTE ‐ A human resources measurement equal to one staff person working full‐time for one
year; for example, an FTE of 1.0 means that the person is equivalent to a full‐time worker, while
an FTE of 0.5 signals that the worker is only half‐time.
GED —General Equivalency Diploma (awarded when a student passes a series of tests in five
academic subjects; students who take the GED exams must not be enrolled in or have
graduated from high school, must be over the age of sixteen, and must meet other state
requirements)
G & T —Gifted and Talented (programs for high‐ability learners)
HAL —High Ability Learners (state mandated and funded effort to encourage school districts “in
the development, improvement, and implementation of accelerated or differentiated
curriculum programs that will serve the educational needs of learners with high ability at levels
appropriate for their abilities”. See §79‐1105 – 79‐1108)
HIPAA —Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (enacted by Congress in 1996;
protects health insurance coverage for workers and their families when they change or lose
their jobs and includes requirements intended to help people keep their information private)
IDEA —Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (governs how states and public agencies
provide early intervention, special education, and related services to children with disabilities. It
addresses the educational needs of children with disabilities from birth to age 21)
IEP —Individualized Education Plan (mandated by IDEA; public schools must provide an
education plan for every student with a disability who is found to meet the federal and state
requirements for special education)
NCLB—No Child Left Behind Act (see ESEA)
NeSA —Nebraska State Accountability (Nebraska’s new system of student assessment)
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NSSRS —Nebraska Student and Staff Record System (school district data‐collecting system used
by NDE)
P‐16 — a term used to describe the goal of creating a seamless educational system of public
education from pre‐school through college completion.
Paraprofessional or Para‐educator— also referred to as a teacher’s aide; a trained worker who
is not licensed to teach but performs many duties both individually with students and
organizationally in the classroom.
PBiS —Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (an effective and proactive process for
improving social competence and academic achievement for all students)
PLAS —Persistently Low Achieving Schools (federal regulation from the U.S. Department of
Education that requires states to identify "persistently low‐achieving schools" in order to
receive federal funding as part of the Statewide Fiscal Stabilization Fund allocations under the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act)
PLC —Professional Learning Community (a collegial group of administrators and school staff
who are united in their commitment to student learning, share a vision, work and learn
collaboratively, visit and review other classrooms, and participate in decision making)
RIF —Reduction in Force (legal process whereby the employment of a teacher is permanently
terminated due to a documented “change of circumstance”, such as the loss of state aid or
other revenues; see §79‐846 ‐ 79‐849)
RTI —Response to Intervention (state‐wide plan for delivering additional instructional services
to high‐need students)
Rule 10—NDE’s regulations and procedures for the accreditation of the state’s schools
SAT —Scholastic Aptitude Test (college entrance test)
SIP – School Improvement Plan (the local school plan for improvement developed through the
Continuous Improvement Process)
SpEd —Special Education (enacted by Congress in 1975, the “Education for All Handicapped
Children Act” [Public Law 94‐142] was intended to provide specially designed instruction to
meet the unique needs of a disabled child)
STEM —Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (nationwide effort to improve
STEM education at all levels; the result of a growing concern that the U.S. now lags behind
many countries on several measures related to STEM education)
TEEOSA —Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act (method of distributing state
aid to education)
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TIF —Teacher Incentive Fund (begun in 2006 and expanded in 2010 with a huge increase in
Federal funding, this program supports efforts to develop and implement performance‐based
teacher and principal compensation systems in high‐need schools)
Title I —largest federal education program, provides more than $8 billion a year to improve
learning for students at risk of educational failure.
Title IX —federal law designed to eliminate discrimination on the basis of gender in any
educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
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