• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Established in 1975 by the federal government to provide funding, and to regulate services for students, between the ages of 3 and 21, who meet the criteria for having developmental disabilities. (M. Cosby & S. Cosby, 2013).
• Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE): IDEA mandates that every child be provided with a free public education, at no cost to the child's parents, in the least restrictive environment.  FAPE also guarantees the child to an individualized special educational program to meet the child's educational needs (Education Law Center, 2008).  
• Evaluation: Prior to being qualified for special education services, a child must be "assessed and observed."  This assessment and observation is then used to determine whether or not the child has a disability, and if so, what services are required to best meet their educational needs.  (Education Law Center, 2008).  
• Individualized Education Plan/Program (IEP): IDEA requires school districts to establish an IEP for any student requiring special education and related services (Education Law Center, 2008).  The IEP includes a plan on how the child's parents/guardians will be informed about their child's progress in mastering the goals and objectives listed in the IEP (Altshuler & Kopels, 2003).  The objective of an IEP is to provide a detailed outline of interventions, modifications, and accommodations to help students with special needs reach their full educational potential (Goepel, 2009, p.127).  
• Early Intervention (EI): Comprehensive services and supports for families with children, birth through age 2, who have developmental delays, are at risk for substantial development delays, and/or have established conditions.  
• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA): A federal law that regulates the management of confidential student records and disclosure of information from those records. 
• Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): To the maximum extent appropriate, educating children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, with children who are nondisabled; and removing children with disabilities to special classes, separate schooling, or other settings apart from the general education setting occurs only if the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in general education classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.  
• Related Services: A special education term meaning transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education, and includes speech/language pathology and audiology services, interpreting services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, early identification and assessment of disabilities in children, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, and medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes.  Related services also include school health services, school nurse services, social work services in schools, and parent counseling and training.  

• Altshuler, S. J., & Kopels, S. (2003). Advocating in schools for children with disabilities: What's new with IDEA? Social Work, 48(3), 320-329.
• Cosby, M., & Cosby, S.M. (2013). Pediatric life care plan development: An overview of IDEA and Section 504. Journal of Nurse LIfe Care Planning, 13(1), 29-46.
• Education Law Center. (2008). The right to special education in New Jersey: A guide for advocates. Retrieved from: https://edlawcenter.org/assets/files/pdfs/publications/Rights_SpecialEducation_Guide%20TL.pdf
• Goepel, J. (2009). Constructing the Individual Education Plan: confusion or collaboration? Support for Learning, 24(3), 126-132.