Ala. Admin. Code r. 290-8-9-.00

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 7, April 30, 2024

Section 290-8-9-.00 - Definitions

These definitions are frequently used in the Alabama Administrative Code.

(1)Consent. Consent means that:

(a) The parent has been fully informed of all information relevant to the activity for which consent is sought, in his or her native language, or other mode of communication;

(b) The parent understands and agrees in writing to the carrying out of the activity for which his or her consent is sought, and the consent describes that activity and lists the records (if any) that will be released and to whom; and

(c) The parent understands that the granting of consent is voluntary on the part of the parent and may be revoked at anytime. If a parent revokes consent, that revocation is not retroactive (i.e., it does not negate an action that has occurred after the consent was given and before the consent was revoked).

(2)Core Academic Subjects. Core academic subjects means English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography.

(3)Day; Business Day; School Day.

(a) Day means calendar day unless otherwise indicated as business day or school day.

(b) Business day means Monday through Friday, except for Federal and State holidays (unless holidays are specifically included in the designation of business day).

(c) School day means any day, including a partial day that children are in attendance at school for instructional purposes. School day has the same meaning for all children in school, including children with and without disabilities.

(4)Educational Performance. Educational performance means academic, social/emotional, and/or communication skills.

(5)Elementary School. Elementary school means a nonprofit institutional day or residential school, including a public elementary charter school, that provides elementary education, as determined under state law.

(6)Evaluation. Evaluation means procedures used to determine whether a child has a disability and the nature and extent of the special education and related services that the child needs.

(7)Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). Free appropriate public education or FAPE means special education and related services that:

(a) Are provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge;

(b) Meet the standards of the SEA, including the requirements of this part;

(c) Include an appropriate preschool, elementary school, or secondary school education in the State; and

(d) Are provided in conformity with an individualized education program (IEP) and its requirements.

(8)Homeless Children. Homeless children has the meaning given the term homeless children and youths in section 725 ( 42 U.S.C. 11434a ) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.

(9)IDEA. IDEA means the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as amended.

(10)Individualized Education Program (IEP). Individualized education program or IEP means a written statement for a child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in accordance with these rules.

(11)Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). Individualized family service plan or IFSP means a written plan developed jointly by the family, Early Intervention (EI) service coordinator and providers for eligible children birth to three years and their family.

(12)Local Education Agency (LEA).

(a) Local educational agency or LEA means a public board of education or other public authority legally constituted within a State for either administrative control or direction of, or to perform a service function for, public elementary or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision of a State, or for a combination of school districts or counties as are recognized in a State as an administrative agency for its public elementary schools or secondary schools.

(b) Educational service agencies and other public institutions or agencies. The term includes:

1. An educational service agency; and

2. Any other public institution or agency having administrative control and direction of a public elementary school or secondary school, including a public nonprofit charter school that is established as an LEA under State law.

(13)Native Language.

(a) Native language, when used with respect to an individual who is limited English proficient, means the following:

1. The language normally used by that individual, or, in the case of a child, the language normally used by the parents of the child, except as provided in paragraph (a)2. of this section.

2. In all direct contact with a child (including evaluation of the child), the language normally used by the child in the home or learning environment.

(b) For an individual with deafness or blindness, or for an individual with no written language, the mode of communication is that normally used by the individual (such as sign language, Braille, or oral communication).

(14)Parent.

(a) Parent means:

1. A biological or adoptive parent of a child;

2. A foster parent, unless State law, regulations, or contractual obligations with a State or local entity prohibit a foster parent from acting as a parent;

3. A guardian generally authorized to act as the child's parent, or authorized to make educational decisions for the child (but not the State if the child is a ward of the State [in the "legal custody" of a state agency]);

4. An individual acting in the place of a biological or adoptive parent (including a grandparent, stepparent, or other relative) with whom the child lives, or an individual who is legally responsible for the child's welfare; or

5. A surrogate parent who has been appointed in accordance with these rules.

(b) Except as provided in the last paragraph of this section, the biological or adoptive parent, when attempting to act as the parent under these rules and when more than one party is qualified under paragraph (a) of this section to act as a parent, must be presumed to be the parent for purposes of this section unless the biological or adoptive parent does not have legal authority to make educational decisions for the child. If a judicial decree or order identifies a specific person or persons under paragraphs (a)1. through 4. of this section to act as the "parent" of a child or to make educational decisions on behalf of a child, then such person or persons shall be determined to be the "parent" for purposes of this section.

(15)Participating Agency. Participating agency means any agency or institution that collects, maintains, or uses personally identifiable information, or from which information is obtained, under Part B of the IDEA.

(16)Personally Identifiable. Personally identifiable means information that contains the name of the child; the child's parent, or other family member; the address of the child; a personal identifier, such as the child's social security number or student number; or a list of personal characteristics or other information that would make it possible to identify the child with reasonable certainty.

(17)Public Agency. Public agency includes the SEA, LEAs, ESAs, nonprofit public charter schools that are not otherwise included as LEAs or ESAs and are not a school of an LEA or ESA, and any other political subdivisions of the State that are responsible for providing education to children with disabilities.

(18)Related Services.

(a) General. Related services means 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 and school nurse services, social work services in schools, and parent counseling and training.

(b) Exception: services that apply to children with surgically implanted devices, including cochlear implants.

1. Related services do not include a medical device that is surgically implanted, the optimization of that device's functioning (e.g., mapping), maintenance of that device, or the replacement of that device.

2. Nothing in paragraph (b)(1) of this section:

(i) Limits the right of a child with a surgically implanted device (e.g., cochlear implant) to receive related services (as listed in paragraph (a) of this section) that are determined by the IEP Team to be necessary for the child to receive FAPE.

(ii) Limits the responsibility of a public agency to appropriately monitor and maintain medical devices that are needed to maintain the health and safety of the child, including breathing, nutrition, or operation of other bodily functions, while the child is transported to and from school or is at school; or

(iii) Prevents the routine checking of an external component of a surgically implanted device to make sure it is functioning properly.

(c) Individual related services terms defined. The terms used in this definition are defined as follows:

1. Audiology includes:

(i) Identification of children with hearing loss;

(ii) Determination of the range, nature, and degree of hearing loss, including referral for medical or other professional attention for the habilitation of hearing;

(iii) Provision of habilitative activities, such as language habilitation, auditory training, speech reading (lip-reading), hearing evaluation, and speech conservation;

(iv) Creation and administration of programs for prevention of hearing loss;

(v) Counseling and guidance of children, parents, and teachers regarding hearing loss; and

(vi) Determination of children's needs for group and individual amplification, selecting and fitting an appropriate aid, and evaluating the effectiveness of amplification.

2. Counseling services means services provided by qualified social workers, psychologists, guidance counselors, or other qualified personnel.

3. Early identification and assessment of disabilities in children means the implementation of a formal plan for identifying a disability as early as possible in a child's life.

4. Interpreting services includes:

(i) The following, when used with respect to children who are deaf or hard of hearing: Oral transliteration services, cued language transliteration services, sign language transliteration and interpreting services, and transcription services, such as communication access real-time translation (CART), C-Print, and TypeWell; and

(ii) Special interpreting services for children who are deaf-blind.

5. Medical services means services provided by a licensed physician to determine a child's medically related disability that results in the child's need for special education and related services.

6. Occupational therapy means services provided by a qualified occupational therapist; and includes:

(i) Improving, developing, or restoring functions impaired or lost through illness, injury, or deprivation;

(ii) Improving ability to perform tasks for independent functioning if functions are impaired or lost; and

(iii) Preventing, through early intervention, initial or further impairment or loss of function.

7. Orientation and mobility services:

(i) Means services provided to blind or visually impaired children by qualified personnel to enable those students to attain systematic orientation to and safe movement within their environments in school, home, and community; and

(ii) Includes teaching children the following, as appropriate:

(I) Spatial and environmental concepts and use of information received by the senses (such as sound, temperature and vibrations) to establish, maintain, or regain orientation and line of travel (e.g., using sound at a traffic light to cross the street);

(II) To use the long cane or a service animal to supplement visual travel skills or as a tool for safely negotiating the environment for children with no available travel vision;

(III) To understand and use remaining vision and distance low vision aids; and

(IV) Other concepts, techniques, and tools.

8. Parent counseling and training means assisting parents in understanding the special needs of their child; providing parents with information about child development; and helping parents to acquire the necessary skills that will allow them to support the implementation of their child's IEP or IFSP.

9. Physical therapy means services provided by a qualified physical therapist.

10. Psychological services includes:

(i) Administering psychological and educational tests, and other assessment procedures;

(ii) Interpreting assessment results;

(iii) Obtaining, integrating, and interpreting information about child behavior and conditions relating to learning;

(iv) Consulting with other staff members in planning school programs to meet the special educational needs of children as indicated by psychological tests, interviews, direct observation, and behavioral evaluations;

(v) Planning and managing a program of psychological services, including psychological counseling for children and parents; and

(vi) Assisting in developing positive behavioral intervention strategies.

11. Recreation includes:

(i) Assessment of leisure function;

(ii) Therapeutic recreation services;

(iii) Recreation programs in schools and community agencies; and

(iv) Leisure education.

12. Rehabilitation counseling services means services provided by qualified personnel in individual or group sessions that focus specifically on career development, employment preparation, achieving independence, and integration in the workplace and community of a student with a disability. The term also includes vocational rehabilitation services provided to a student with a disability by vocational rehabilitation programs funded under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.

13. School health services and school nurse services means health services that are designed to enable a child with a disability to receive FAPE as described in the child's IEP. School nurse services are services provided by a qualified school nurse. School health services are services that may be provided by either a qualified school nurse or other qualified person.

14. Social work services in schools includes:

(i) Preparing a social or developmental history on a child with a disability;

(ii) Group and individual counseling with the child and family;

(iii) Working in partnership with parents and others on those problems in a child's living situation (home, school, and community) that affect the child's adjustment in school;

(iv) Mobilizing school and community resources to enable the child to learn as effectively as possible in his or her educational program; and

(v) Assisting in developing positive behavioral intervention strategies.

15. Speech-language pathology services includes:

(i) Identification of children with speech or language impairments;

(ii) Diagnosis and appraisal of specific speech or language impairments;

(iii) Referral for medical or other professional attention necessary for the habilitation of speech or language impairments;

(iv) Provision of speech and language services for the habilitation or prevention of communicative impairments; and

(v) Counseling and guidance of parents, children, and teachers regarding speech and language impairments.

16. Transportation includes:

(i) Travel to and from school and between schools;

(ii) Travel in and around school buildings; and

(iii) Specialized equipment (such as special or adapted buses, lifts, and ramps), if required to provide special transportation for a child with a disability.

(19)Secondary School. Secondary school means a nonprofit institutional day or residential school, including a public secondary charter school that provides secondary education, as determined under state law, except that it does not include any education beyond Grade 12.

(20)Services Plan. Services plan means a written statement that describes the special education and related services the LEA will provide to a parentally-placed child with a disability enrolled in a private school who has been designated to receive services, including the location of the services and any transportation necessary, and is developed and implemented in accordance with these rules.

(21)Special Education.

(a) General.

1. Special education means specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability, including:

(i) Instruction conducted in the classroom, in the home, in hospitals and institutions, and in other settings; and

(ii) Instruction in physical education.

2. Special education includes each of the following, if the services otherwise meet the requirements of paragraph (a)1. of this section:

(i) Speech-language pathology services;

(ii) Travel training; and

(iii) Vocational education.

(b) Individual special education terms defined. The terms in this definition are defined as follows:

1. At no cost means that all specially-designed instruction is provided without charge, but does not preclude incidental fees that are normally charged to nondisabled students or their parents as a part of the regular education program.

2. Physical education means:

(i) The development of:

(I) Physical and motor fitness;

(II) Fundamental motor skills and patterns; and

(III) Skills in aquatics, dance, and individual and group games and sports (including intramural and lifetime sports); and

(ii) Includes special physical education, adapted physical education, movement education, and motor development.

3. Specially designed instruction means adapting, as appropriate, to the needs of an eligible child under these rules, the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction:

(i) To address the unique needs of the child that result from the child's disability; and

(ii) To ensure access of the child to the general curriculum, so that the child can meet the educational standards within the jurisdiction of the public agency that apply to all children.

4. Travel training means providing instruction, as appropriate, to children with significant cognitive disabilities, and any other children with disabilities who require this instruction, to enable them to:

(i) Develop an awareness of the environment in which they live; and

(ii) Learn the skills necessary to move effectively and safely from place to place within that environment (e.g., in school, in the home, at work, and in the community).

5. Vocational education means organized educational programs that are directly related to the preparation of individuals for paid or unpaid employment, or for additional preparation for a career not requiring a baccalaureate or advanced degree.

(22)State Educational Agency (SEA). State educational agency or SEA means the State Board of Education or other agency or officer primarily responsible for the State supervision of public elementary schools and secondary schools, or, if there is no such officer or agency, an officer or agency designated by the Governor or by State law.

(23)Supplementary Aids and Services. Supplementary aids and services means aids, services, and other supports that are provided in regular education classes, other education-related settings, and in extracurricular and nonacademic settings, to enable children with disabilities to be educated with nondisabled children to the maximum extent appropriate in accordance with these rules.

(24)Transition Services.

(a) Transition services means a coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability that:

1. Is designed to be within a results-oriented process, that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the child with a disability to facilitate the child's movement from school to post-school activities, including postsecondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation;

2. Is based on the individual child's needs, taking into account the child's strengths, preferences, and interests; and includes:

(i) Instruction;

(ii) Related services;

(iii) Community experiences;

(iv) The development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives; and

(v) If appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and provision of a functional vocational evaluation.

(b) Transition services for children with disabilities may be special education, if provided as specially designed instruction, or a related service, if required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education.

(25)Ward of the State.

(a) General. Ward of the State means a child who, as determined by the State where the child resides, is:

1. A foster child;

2. A ward of the State (in the "legal custody" of a state agency); or

3. In the custody of a public child welfare agency.

(b) Exception. Ward of the State does not include a foster child who has a foster parent who meets the definition of a parent in accordance with these rules.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 290-8-9-.00

New Rule: Filed June 14, 2007; effective July 19, 2007.

Author: Joseph B. Morton

Statutory Authority:Code of Ala. 1975, Title 16, Chapter 39; 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.; 34 CFR §300.