Terms and Acronyms

Average Daily Attendance (ADA)  The aggregate number of days in attendance of all students during a school year divided by the number of days school is in session during that year.

Average Per Pupil Expenditure (PPE) In the case of a state of the United States:

• Without regard to the source of funds, the aggregate current expenditures, during the third fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the determination is made (or, if satisfactory data for that year is not available, during the most recent preceding fiscal year for which satisfactory data is available) of all local education agencies (LEAs) in the state or, in the case of the United States, for all states, plus
• Any direct current expenditures by the state for the operation of those LEAs; divided by
• The aggregate number of children in ADA to whom those LEAs provided free public education during the preceding year.

The figures used for the national and state average per pupil expenditure shall be obtained from data provided by the US Department of Education.

Children with Disabilities  Children with mental retardation, hearing impairments including deafness, speech or language impairments, visual impairment including blindness, serious emotional disturbance (hereinafter referred to as “emotional disturbance”), orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities; and who, by reason thereof, need special education and related services.

The term “children with disabilities” for children aged three through nine may, at the discretion of the state and the LEA, include a child experiencing developmental delays, as defined by the state and as measured by appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures, in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development; and who, by reason thereof, need special education and related services.

Children with Severe Disabilities  Children with disabilities who because of the intensity of their physical, mental or emotional problems need highly specialized education, social, psychological, and medical services in order to maximize their full potential for useful and meaningful participation in society and for self-fulfillment. The term includes those children with disabilities with severe emotional disturbance (including schizophrenia), autism, severe and profound mental retardation, and those who have two or more serious disabilities such as deaf-blindness, mental retardation and blindness, and cerebral palsy and deafness.

Department of Defense (DoD)  The US Department of Defense.

Department of Education (ED)  The US Department of Education.

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)  Special education and related services that have been provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge; meet the standards of the state educational agency; include an appropriate preschool, elementary, or secondary education in the state involved; and are provided in conformity with the individualized education program required under Title 20 United States Code Section 1414(d).

Free Public Education  Education that is provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without tuition charge; and as elementary or secondary education, as determined under applicable state law, except that the term does not include any education beyond grade twelve.

Large Scale Rebasing  This includes DoD global rebasing, the official creation or activation of one or more new military units, the realignment of forces as a result of the base closure process, and changes in the number of housing units on a military installation.

Local Educational Agency (LEA)  A board of education or other legally constituted local school authority having administrative control and direction of free public elementary and secondary education through grade twelve in a county, township, independent school district, or other school district, and includes any state agency that directly operates and maintains facilities for providing free public education.

Military Dependent Child  For the purpose of the DoD Impact Aid for Children with Severe Disabilities, a dependent child who:

• resides on eligible federal property with a parent who is an official of, and accredited by, a foreign government and is a military foreign officer;
• resides on eligible federal property with a parent on active duty in the uniformed services, as defined in Section 101 of Title 37, United States Code;
• has a parent on active duty in the uniformed services but does not reside on federal property; or
• has a parent who is an official of, and has been accredited by, a foreign government and is a foreign military officer but does not reside on eligible federal property.

Military Dependent Student  For purposes of the DoD Supplement to Impact Aid Program, a student that is a dependent child of a member of the Military Services or a dependent child of a civilian employee of the Department of Defense.

State  Each of the fifty states of the United States and the District of Columbia.