Definitions

§300.5 Assistive technology device. As used in this part, Assistive technology device means any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability.

§300.6 Assistive technology service. As used in this part, Assistive technology service means any service that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device. The term includes-

1. The evaluation of the needs of a child with a disability, including a functional evaluation of the child in the child's customary environment;
2. Purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the acquisition of assistive technology devices by children with disabilities;
3. Selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, adapting, applying, maintaining, repairing, or replacing assistive technology devices;
4. Coordinating and using other therapies, interventions, or services with assistive technology devices, such as those associated with existing education and rehabilitation plans and programs;
5. Training or technical assistance for a child with a disability or, if appropriate, that child's family; and
6. Training or technical assistance for professionals (including individuals providing education or rehabilitation services), employers, or other individuals who provide services to, employ, or are otherwise substantially involved in the major life functions of that child

§300.313 Children experiencing developmental delays.

1. Use of term developmental delay.
   1. A State that adopts the term developmental delay under §300.7(b) determines whether it applies to children aged 3 through 9, or to a subset of that age range (e.g., ages 3 through 5).
   2. A State may not require an LEA to adopt and use the term developmental delay for any children within its jurisdiction.
   3. If an LEA uses the term developmental delay for children described in §300.7(b), the LEA must conform to both the State's definition of that term and to the age range that has been adopted by the State.
   4. If a State does not adopt the term developmental delay, an LEA may not independently use that term as a basis for establishing a child's eligibility under this part.
2. Use of individual disability categories.
   1. Any State or LEA that elects to use the term developmental delay for children aged 3 through 9 may also use one or more of the disability categories described in §300.7 for any child within that age range if it is determined, through the evaluation conducted under §§300.530-300.536, that the child has an impairment described in §300.7, and because of that impairment needs special education and related services.
   2. The State or LEA shall ensure that all of the child's special education and related services needs that have been identified through the evaluation described in paragraph (b)(1) of this section are appropriately addressed.

§300.7(a)(1)(c) Definitions of disability terms.

1. (i) Autism means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age 3, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. The term does not apply if a child's educational performance is adversely affected primarily because the child has an emotional disturbance, as defined in paragraph (b)(4) of this section. (ii) A child who manifests the characteristics of ''autism'' after age 3 could be diagnosed as having ''autism'' if the criteria in paragraph (c)(1)(i) of this section are satisfied.
2. Deaf-blindness means concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness.
3. Deafness means a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, that adversely affects a child's educational performance.
4. Emotional disturbance is defined as follows: (i) The term means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child's educational performance:
   1. An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
   2. An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
   3. Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
   4. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
   5. A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems. (ii) The term includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance.
5. Hearing impairment means an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child's educational performance but that is not included under the definition of deafness in this section.
6. Mental retardation means significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a child's educational performance.
7. Multiple disabilities means concomitant impairments (such as mental retardation-blindness, mental retardation-orthopedic impairment, etc.), the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. The term does not include deaf-blindness.
8. Orthopedic impairment means a severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by congenital anomaly (e.g., clubfoot, absence of some member, etc.), impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis, etc.), and impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures).
9. Other health impairment means having limited strength, vitality or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that-
   1. Is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, and sickle cell anemia; and
   2. Adversely affects a child's educational performance.
10. Specific learning disability is defined as follows:
    1. General. The term means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.
    2. Disorders not included. The term does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.
11. Speech or language impairment means a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment, that adversely affects a child's educational performance.
12. Traumatic brain injury means an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma.
13. Visual impairment including blindness means an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness.

300.13 Free appropriate public education. As used in this part, the term free appropriate public education or FAPE means special education and related services that-

1. Are provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge;
2. Meet the standards of the SEA, including the requirements of this part;
3. Include preschool, elementary school, or secondary school education in the State; and
4. Are provided in conformity with an individualized education program (IEP) that meets the requirements of §§300.340-300.350.

§300.121 Free appropriate public education (FAPE).

1. General. Each State must have on file with the Secretary information that shows that, subject to §300.122, the State has in effect a policy that ensures that all children with disabilities aged 3 through 21 residing in the State have the right to FAPE, including children with disabilities who have been suspended or expelled from school.
2. Required information. The information described in paragraph (a) of this section must-
   1. Include a copy of each State statute, court order, State Attorney General opinion, and other State documents that show the source of the State's policy relating to FAPE; and
   2. Show that the policy- (i)(A) Applies to all public agencies in the State; and (B) Is consistent with the requirements of §§300.300- 300.313; and (ii) Applies to all children with disabilities, including children who have been suspended or expelled from school.
3. FAPE for children beginning at age 3. (1) Each State shall ensure that- (i) The obligation to make FAPE available to each eligible child residing in the State begins no later than the child's third birthday; and (ii) An IEP or an IFSP is in effect for the child by that date, in accordance with §300.342(c). (2) If a child's third birthday occurs during the summer, the child's IEP team shall determine the date when services under the IEP or IFSP will begin.
4. FAPE for children suspended or expelled from school.
   1. A public agency need not provide services during periods of removal under §300.520(a)(1) to a child with a disability who has been removed from his or her current placement for 10 school days or less in that school year, if services are not provided to a child without disabilities who has been similarly removed.
   2. In the case of a child with a disability who has been removed from his or her current placement for more than 10 school days in that school year, the public agency, for the remainder of the removals, must- (i) Provide services to the extent necessary to enable the child to appropriately progress in the general curriculum and appropriately advance toward achieving the goals set out in the child's IEP, if the removal is (A) Under the school personnel's authority to remove for not more than 10 consecutive school days as long as that removal does not constitute a change of placement under §300.519(b) (§300.520((a)(1)); or (B) For behavior that is not a manifestation of the child's disability, consistent with §300.524; and (ii) Provide services consistent with §300.522, regarding determination of the appropriate interim alternative educational setting, if the removal is- (A) For drug or weapons offenses under §300.520(a)(2); or (B) Based on a hearing officer determination that maintaining the current placement of the child is substantially likely to result in injury to the child or to others if he or she remains in the current placement, consistent with §300.521.
   3. (i) School personnel, in consultation with the child's special education teacher, determine the extent to which services are necessary to enable the child to appropriately progress in the general curriculum and appropriately advance toward achieving the goals set out in the child's IEP if the child is removed under the authority of school personnel to remove for not more than 10 consecutive school days as long as that removal does not constitute a change of placement under §300.519 (§300.520(a)(1)). (ii) The child's IEP team determines the extent to which services are necessary to enable the child to appropriately progress in the general curriculum and appropriately advance toward achieving the goals set out in the child's IEP if the child is removed because of behavior that has been determined not to be a manifestation of the child's disability, consistent with §300.524.
5. Children advancing from grade to grade.
   1. Each State shall ensure that FAPE is available to any individual child with a disability who needs special education and related services, even though the child is advancing from grade to grade.
   2. The determination that a child described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section is eligible under this part, must be made on an individual basis by the group responsible within the child's LEA for making those determinations.

§300.15 Individualized education program. As used in this part, the term individualized education program or IEP has the meaning given the term in §300.340(a).

§300.16 Individualized education program team. As used in this part, the term individualized education program team or IEP team means a group of individuals described in §300.344 that is responsible for developing, reviewing, or revising an IEP for a child with a disability.

§300.17 Individualized family service plan. As used in this part, the term individualized family service plan or IFSP has the meaning given the term in 34 CFR §303.340(b).

§300.24 Related services.

1. General. As used in this part, the term 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, 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. The term also includes school health services, social work services in schools, and parent counseling and training.
2. Individual 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. 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.
   5. Occupational therapy- (i) Means services provided by a qualified occupational therapist; and (ii) Includes- (A) Improving, developing or restoring functions impaired or lost through illness, injury, or deprivation; (B) Improving ability to perform tasks for independent functioning if functions are impaired or lost; and (C) Preventing, through early intervention, initial or further impairment or loss of function.
   6. Orientation and mobility services- (i) Means services provided to blind or visually impaired students 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 students the following, as appropriate: (A) 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); (B) To use the long cane to supplement visual travel skills or as a tool for safely negotiating the environment for students with no available travel vision; (C) To understand and use remaining vision and distance low vision aids; and (D) Other concepts, techniques, and tools.
   7. Parent counseling and training means- (i) Assisting parents in understanding the special needs of their child; (ii) Providing parents with information about child development; and (iii) Helping parents to acquire the necessary skills that will allow them to support the implementation of their child's IEP or IFSP.
   8. Physical therapy means services provided by a qualified physical therapist.
   9. 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 needs of children as indicated by psychological tests, interviews, 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.
   10. Recreation includes- (i) Assessment of leisure function; (ii) Therapeutic recreation services; (iii) Recreation programs in schools and community agencies; and (iv) Leisure education.
   11. 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 disabilities by vocational rehabilitation programs funded under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.
   12. School health services means services provided by a qualified school nurse or other qualified person.
   13. 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.
   14. 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.
   15. 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.

§300.26 Special education.

1. General.
   1. As used in this part, the term 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. The term includes each of the following, if it meets the requirements of paragraph (a)(1) of this section: (i) Speech-language pathology services, or any other related service, if the service is considered special education rather than a related service under State standards; (ii) Travel training; and (iii) Vocational education.
2. Individual 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 (i) Means the development of- (A) Physical and motor fitness; (B) Fundamental motor skills and patterns; and (C) 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 this part, 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 he or she 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).
3. 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 requiring other than a baccalaureate or advanced degree.

§300.28 Supplementary aids and services. As used in this part, the term supplementary aids and services means, aids, services, and other supports that are provided in regular education classes or other education-related settings to enable children with disabilities to be educated with nondisabled children to the maximum extent appropriate in accordance with §§300.550-300.556.

§300.29 Transition services.

1. As used in this part, transition services means a coordinated set of activities for a student with a disability that-
   1. Is designed within an outcome-oriented process, that promotes movement from school to post-school activities, including postsecondary education, vocational training, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation;
   2. Is based on the individual student's needs, taking into account the student's preferences and interests; and
   3. 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 functional vocational evaluation.
2. Transition services for students with disabilities may be special education, if provided as specially designed instruction, or related services, if required to assist a student with a disability to benefit from special education.