Friday, July 24, 2026

Special Education Acronyms Parents Need to Know for MET and IEP meetings

 A     Autism

A.A.C. Augmentative & Alternative Comm

ADA    Americans with Disabilities Act

ADE    Arizona Department of Education

ADHD   Attention Deficit Hyperactivity

       Disorder

ALJ    Arizona Law Judge

APE    Adaptive Physical Education

A.R.S. Arizona Revised Statutes

ASD    Autism Spectrum Disorder

ASL    American Sign Language

AzEIP  Arizona Early Intervention Program

BIP    Behavior Intervention Plan

C.F.R. Code of Federal Regulations

DD     Developmental Disorder

US DOE United States Department of Ed

DP     Due Process

DSM-V  Diagnostic & Statistical Manual-5

ED     Emotional Disability

ESY    Extended School Year

FAPE   Free & Appropriate Public Education

FBA    Functional Behavior Assessment

FERPA  Family Education Records Privacy Act

GAD    Generalized Anxiety Disorder

HI     Hearing Impairment

IAEP   Interim Alternative Education Program

IAES   Interim Alternative Education School

ID     Intellectual Disability

IDEA   Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

IEE    Independent Educational Evaluation

IEP    Individualized Education Program

ISS    In-school suspension

LEA    Local Educational Agency

LOS  Level of Service

LRE  Least Restrictive Environment (Placement)

MD   Multiple Disabilities

MDSSI Multiple Disabilities with Severe Sensory Impairment

MDR  Manifestation Determination Review

MET  Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team

MIID Mild Intellectual Disability

MOID Moderate Intellectual Disability

ODD  Oppositional Defiant Disorder

O&M  Orientation & Mobility

OAH  Office of Administrative Hearing

OCR  Office of Civil Rights

OHI  Other Health Impairment

OI   Orthopedic Impairment

OSEP Office of Special Education Programs

OSS  Out-of-school suspension

OT   Occupational Therapy

PEA  Public Educational Agency

PT   Physical Therapy

RED  Review of Existing Data

RTC  Residential Treatment Program

SEA  State Educational Agency

SLD  Specific Learning Disability

SLI  Speech & Language Impairment

SLP  Speech Language Pathologist

SLT  Speech Language Therapist

SPED Special Education

TBI  Traumatic Brain Injury

U.S.C. United States Code

VI   Visual Impairment

VR   Vocational Rehabilitation (Voc Rehab)


Kirsch-Goodwin & Kirsch, PLLC

Kirsch-Goodwin & Kirsch Education Attorneys

(serving students throughout Arizona)

480.585.0600

www.azspecialeducationlawyers.com

www.facebook.com/KGKLAW/

          The purposes of [the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)] are—to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education (FAPE) that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living 34 Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) Sec. 300.1.

Who we are:

 Lori Kirsch-Goodwin, Esq., is a 35+ year litigation attorney whose practice is devoted to education and special education matters on behalf of students and their families.  Lori has a Bachelors degree from Syracuse University and her law degree from Bridgeport (now Quinnipiac) University.  Lori began advocating for special needs students when her own son, now 30 years old, was found eligible for special education when he was in Kindergarten.  Lori is regularly involved in eligibility and IEP meetings, MDRs, disciplinary due process hearings, OCR, IDEA Due Process, and DDD appeals.  She is admitted to practice in state and federal courts in NY, NJ and AZ, and the 9th Circuit, and is an AV® Preeminent rated attorney (5.0 out of 5.0) and served for several years as a Judge Pro Tem for the Superior Court of Arizona.  Lori prevailed in a case before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that involved appropriateness of a school’s selection of location of a school for a student on the spectrum.

 Hope N. Kirsch, M.A.(Ed.), Esq., is a licensed special education teacher and 30+ year attorney. She practices special education law with her sister, Lori Kirsch-Goodwin, at Kirsch-Goodwin & Kirsch, PLLC, representing K-12 and higher education students throughout Arizona in school-related matters including advocacy, Due Process, 504s, OCR, discipline and bullying.  Hope was a special education teacher and coordinator in the New York City public schools for 18 years where she worked with the most challenging populations and supervised and trained teachers in teaching strategies, curriculum development, writing IEPs and behavior management.  She has a Bachelors degree in special education from Boston University, a Master’s degree in special education from NYU, 30+ post-graduate credits in educational supervision and administration, and her law degree from Brooklyn Law School.   She is admitted to the state and federal district courts in New York, New Jersey, Arizona and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.  Hope was instrumental in the passage of the first legislation in Arizona addressing restraint and seclusion and is currently involved in expanding that legislation.  She is an AV® Preeminent rated attorney, and served for several years as a Judge Pro Tem for the Superior Court of Arizona. 

 


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