Glossary Of Terms

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Absentee Ballot - casting your vote before election day by completing a special ballot form and returning it by mail or in person to your county auditor's office.

Access Point - a place that has been designated by your county to accept applications to receive disability-related services provided under the county's management plan. (Common examples include DHS offices, hospitals, and mental health treatment centers.)

Accommodation - a help, aid, support, adjustment, or any assistance or adaptation that an individual with a disability needs to participate in activities, programs, or services on a similar basis with others who do not have disabilities.

ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) - a federal civil rights law that protects individuals from discrimination on the basis of disability.

AIDS/HIV Waiver - a Medicaid program that funds medical and disability-related services to children and adults who have a medical diagnosis of AIDS or HIV infection.

Alternative Educational Setting - a temporary educational placement where a child's Individual Education Program can be implemented during a suspension or other removal from the child's usual educational setting.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) - a federal civil rights law that protects individuals from discrimination on the basis of disability.

Assistive Technology Device - a product, a piece of equipment, or a system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the capabilities of an individual with a disability to move about, communicate, or perform manual tasks.

Assistive Technology Service - a service that helps an individual with a disability to select, obtain, or use an assistive technology device.

B

Behavioral Intervention Plan - a plan developed by a student's educational team, including the parents, to help a child improve his or her behavior.

Brain Injury Waiver - a Medicaid program that funds medical and disability-related services for children and adults who have a medical diagnosis of brain injury.

C

Case Management - the job of coordinating various services and supports needed by an individual, including communicating with service providers and funding sources on behalf of the individual.

Central Point of Coordination (CPC) - the administrative "gatekeeper" for service requests in each county under Iowa's County Management Plan system. The CPC is the person who approves applications for services and approves county funding.

Chapter 17A Appeal - an appeal to Iowa District Court from the final decision of any state agency.

Complaint - a signed, written statement filed with the Iowa Department of Education by an individual or organization explaining the facts about a situation where a school or other public agency is believed to have violated rights under the IDEA, and asking for an investigation; OR, a signed statement explaining how you believe your rights under law have been violated (for example: an ADA complaint, or a Fair Housing complaint).

County Appeals Process - the process developed by each county under its county management plan for individuals to appeal the denial of county funded disability-related services.

County Management Plan - a written plan developed by each Iowa county for organizing, financing, delivering, and evaluating services and supports for individuals with mental retardation, developmental disabilities or mental health needs.

County of Residence - the county where you live.

Crisis Services - services and supports necessary to stabilize a crisis situation.

Curbside Voting - voters with disabilities can request that precinct workers at their local polling place bring a ballot to their vehicle to complete if the voter has difficulty entering the polling place.

D

DHS - the Iowa Department of Human Services. The DHS is the state agency that oversees disability-related services, social services, and services provided through federal Medicaid programs.

Due Process Hearing - a "trial-like" hearing under the IDEA law coordinated by the Iowa Department of Education and conducted by an administrative law judge. In such a hearing, both parents and school officials have the opportunity to present evidence and witnesses supporting their view of an educational dispute.

Due Process Rights - the rights that protect an individual from being deprived of anything he is entitled to, without first being properly notified and being given a fair opportunity to have his point of view heard and considered by a neutral party.

E

Early Intervention Services - services offered to help families meet the needs of young children with developmental delays.

Elderly Waiver - a Medicaid program which funds medical and disability-related services for adults with disabilities who are sixty-five and older.

Essential Functions - the duties of a job that are necessary to carry out the purpose of the position.

F

Fair Housing Act - a federal civil rights law which prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, and family status.

FAPE - Free Appropriate Public Education. FAPE is required to be provided to all children with disabilities who are eligible under the IDEA or Section 504.

FERPA - the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act is a federal law which gives parents and guardians rights to the educational records of their children and protects the privacy of those records by requiring proper consent before records are released to others.

504 Plan - a plan to provide accommodations or assistance to a student who qualifies as a person with a disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Such a plan is developed by a team of people knowledgeable about the student and his or her learning needs, including the student, the student’s parents, and educational professionals.

Functional Behavioral Assessment - the process of gathering information about how and when specific behaviors occur for a child to help determine the reasons for the behavior.

H

Home and Community Based Services Waiver (HCBS) - a Medicaid program which funds medical and disability-related services that provide necessary support to people living in their homes, or in home-like community living situations, who would otherwise need care in a more restrictive setting.

I

ICF/MR - Intermediate Care Facility for Persons with Mental Retardation.

IDEA - the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The federal law which gives all children with disabilities the right to receive a free appropriate public education.

IEP - Individualized Education Program (see description on the following page).

IEP Meeting or Staffing - meeting which is held before special education or related services are provided to a child, and at least once a year while a child is continuing to receive services.

IFSP - Individualized Family Service Plan for early intervention services to young children (from birth to age 3) with disabilities and their families.

Ill and Handicapped Waiver - a Medicaid program which funds medical and disability-related services for children and adults with disabilities, including blindness, who have been determined to be eligible for social security benefits.

Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) - a written plan developed by a team, including parents and professionals in education and disability-related fields, to assist families in meeting the needs of young children with developmental delays. The plan must include information on the child's current functioning level, family resources, priorities, and concerns relating to the child, goal statements, services needed, how services are to be implemented, how services are to be coordinated, and what steps are needed to prepare the child for preschool or other services.

Individualized Education Program (IEP) - a written plan for meeting the special education and related services needs of a child with a disability who is eligible under the IDEA. The plan must include: a statement of how the child is presently performing in school, annual goals for the child's education, a statement of the specific special education and related services that are to be provided to the child, how the child will participate in regular education programs, and information on how the child's progress will be measured.

J

Jury - a group of people who are sworn to hear evidence in a legal case and to give a decision.

L

Legal Settlement - a method created by state law to determine which Iowa county is responsible for funding disability-related services needed by a particular individual.

M

Major Life Activity - (under Section 504) major life activities include: seeing, hearing, breathing, speaking, walking, learning, working, caring for yourself, and doing manual tasks. A person who has a significant limitation in one or more of these activities because of a physical or mental impairment is protected by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Managed Care - a system of health care, mental health, or disability-related services that is managed by an administrator in an effort to keep costs down and still deliver high-quality services. Managed care systems usually place limits on the amount, type, and length of services, and on the providers who are approved to receive payment for delivering services.

Manifestation Determination - an educational team review to determine if a child who has violated a school rule behaved in the way he did as a result of his or her disability.

Medicaid - a federal program that provides necessary medical care and medical services to individuals who meet financial eligibility requirements.

Mental Health Advocate - an individual appointed by a district court or county Board of Supervisors to represent the interests of a person with mental illness who has been involuntarily hospitalized.

Mental Retardation Waiver - a Medicaid program that funds medical and disability-related services for children and adults who have a primary diagnosis of mental retardation.

MHI - one of the four state Mental Health Institutions located at Cherokee, Clarinda, Independence, and Mount Pleasant.

Multi-disciplinary Team - a team of people from various "disciplines" (or branches of instruction) who have special knowledge in some area of a child's needs. This team includes parents and others who know the individual child.

N

Non-Discrimination - legal provisions to protect people from unfair discrimination based on their status as a member of a "protected" group.

O

Open meetings - meetings of "governmental bodies" that are required by law to be open to the public, so that both the decisions made by those bodies and the reasons for those decisions are easily accessible to people.

Outpatient treatment - counseling and treatment services for persons with mental illness who do not require hospitalization.

P

Partial hospitalization - treatment for persons with mental illness.

Physical Disabilities Waiver - a Medicaid program designed to fund disability-related services for adults with physical disabilities who have been living in medical facilities, but are able to live in community settings if provided with attendant care services.

PLEP (Present Level of Educational Performance) - a statement of how a student is currently performing in school that must be included in the student’s IEP. The PLEP should identify both the child’s strengths and the child’s needs.

Pre-Appeal Conference - a meeting (or mediation) between parents and school or AEA officials to try to work out areas of disagreement regarding the special education needs of a child with disabilities.

Psychiatric medication - prescription medicines for the treatment of persons with chronic mental illness.

R

RCF/MR - Residential Care Facility for Persons with Mental Retardation.

RCF/PMI - Residential Care Facility for Persons with Mental Illness.

Related Services - the services needed for a child with a disability to benefit from his program of specialized instruction as required by the IDEA.

Respite - services to temporarily relieve parents or other regular caregivers of a person with disabilities from their care-giving responsibilities.

S

Section 504 - (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973) is a federal law that makes it illegal to discriminate against an otherwise qualified person on the basis of a disability. It applies to elementary and secondary education, to post-secondary education, as well as to equal access to programs and activities available to the general public.

Self-Advocacy - speaking for yourself, asking for the things you need and want, standing up for your rights, and taking responsibility for your own choices.

Senate File 69 - legislation passed by the Iowa General Assembly in 1995 that created the system of County Management Plans for the funding and delivery of disability-related services.

Special Education - a program of instruction that is specifically designed to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability and is provided at no cost to the parents.

State Hospital School (SHS) - one of Iowa's two State Hospital Schools located at Glenwood and Woodward.

Stay Put - the right of a child to remain in his current educational placement during the time that a pre-appeal or a due process hearing concerning the child's educational programming is pending.

Support Services - services available to individuals with disabilities and their families to assist them in living more independently (for example: supported community living services, respite care, and transportation).

Supported Community Living (SCL) - disability-related services offered at a person's place of residence to help that person learn to live more independently or function better as a part of the community.

Supported Employment - instruction and supervision to assist individuals with disabilities in developing job skills and getting employment in the community.

T

Title Nineteen (XIX) - refers to federal Medicaid services or funding. The Medicaid program was created by Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act.

Transition Planning - part of the IEP team planning process that helps a student (usually age 14 or older) to explore his or her long-term goals and map out ways to reach those goals.

Transition Services - educational activities designed to help a student with disabilities prepare for adult living, higher education, vocational training, employment, or other community activities.

Transportation - services provided to transport individuals to and from treatment, work sites, day activities, or other programs or activities.

U

Undue hardship - an accommodation that requires an employer or a business "significant difficulty" or "significant expense" may be an undue hardship. If a requested accommodation under the ADA is found to be an undue hardship, the employer or business is not obligated to make it.

V

Vocational Services - services available to individuals with disabilities to assist them in training for, seeking, or retaining employment.

Voting - the constitutional right and responsibility of citizens to participate in selecting the federal, state, and local officials who make laws, design programs, and decide how tax dollars are spent.

W

Waiver Services - services provided by the Medicaid Home and Community Based Waiver Program. The purpose of these services is to support people with disabilities living in their own homes or home-like community settings, when without such services they would need to live in a care facility or state hospital-school to receive the level of care they require.

Work activity - non-competitive employment opportunities.