Glossary

Plain-language definitions every other piece can lean on. Each article still defines its own key terms in-text; this glossary is the fuller explanation for a reader who wants it.

SDI — Specially Designed Instruction

The core term. SDI means adapting the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction to a student's disability-driven needs, so the student can access grade-level curriculum and meet the same standards as peers.

The part worth keeping front of mind: SDI describes what the professional does because of the disability — not what the student does. A student "having behaviors" isn't SDI; a teacher delivering a planned, individualized behavioral intervention is. The whole funding rubric rates the intensity of the SDI a student requires, so this distinction runs through every domain and every factor.

FAPE — Free Appropriate Public Education

The legal standard every IEP exists to meet: the student is entitled to the special education and related services they need to access and progress in school, at no cost to the family. In the rubric, the recurring phrase is "required for FAPE" — i.e., the support isn't optional or nice-to-have; it's necessary for the student to access their education. The level-0 of every factor is literally "no [X] required for FAPE."

Direct vs. indirect services

• Direct service — delivered to the student as the recipient, primarily to address IEP goals. A teacher working with the student; a speech therapist running a session.
• Indirect service — supports the delivery of direct services: training, coordination, or consultation provided to staff or systems on the student's behalf. It counts toward the rubric only when it's student-specific, ongoing, and essential — not general staff training.

Why it matters: a student whose IEP has only indirect or consultative services — or only related services — is not receiving special education for funding purposes. There has to be at least one direct service somewhere.

"Anchored to the IEP" (the anchor rule)

You rate what the IEP documents and requires — not what the student "seems like," not what would be best practice, not what the student "really needs." The rubric's levels are defined by what the IEP requires. If the IEP doesn't require a given support, you rate at the level whose language matches what the IEP actually says.

This is the rule the rubric most depends on, and it can feel backwards — you're rating what the document says rather than the child in front of you. How to rate a student

Related services

Services that support a student's special education but aren't the specialized instruction itself — speech, OT, PT, counseling, special transportation, parent counseling and training, etc. They matter in two places: they can be direct services that show up in a domain, and their minutes drive Service Groups 1–3, which is a separate calculation from the tier. Service groups

Tier

The single 1–8 rating that summarizes how intensive a student's overall program is, built from the five domain scores. How scores become a tier

Domain

One of the five areas of support the rubric rates separately: Curriculum & Instruction, Behavior, Communication, Independent Functioning, Personal Care/Health. What is a domain

Factor

One of the four questions asked within every domain: type/frequency/nature of the service (A), required provider credentials (B), required ratio (C), required equipment (D). What is a factor

Service groups

A separate classification from the tier, based on how much provider time a student gets. Groups 1–3 come from related-services minutes; Groups 4–5 come from dedicated 1:1 time. Additive on top of the tier. Service groups