Acronyms

For anyone new to a school district, understanding the lingo (particularly the shorthand) can be a bit daunting. While this is not an exhaustive list, we have compiled a list of acronyms commonly used around the district. If you don't see what you are looking for, send us a ticket and we'll find the right definition and post it here. If you see anything that is inaccurate or needs a bit more clarification, send that on to use as well and we'll be happy to update it.

[ 1 # ] [ 2 A ] [ 3 B ] [ 4 C ] [ 5 D ] [ 6 E ] [ 7 F ] [ 8 G ] [ 9 H ] [ 10 I ] [ 11 J ] [ 12 K ] [ 13 L ] [ 14 M ] [ 15 N ] [ 16 O ] [ 17 P ] [ 18 R ] [ 19 S ] [ 20 T ] [ 21 U ] [ 22 V ] [ 23 W ] [ 24 X ] [ 25 Y ] [ 26 Z ]

Acronym	What it stands for (click link for more info)	Other notes	Category

Acronym	What it stands for (click link for more info)	Other notes	Category
#	[return to top]
190	Form number for Discipline Referral	No longer in use - Behavior Referral module in Infinite Campus has replaced this form.	Behavior
3GRG	3rd Grade Reading Guarantee	Ohio's Third Grade Reading Guarantee is a program to identify students from kindergarten through grade 3 that are behind in reading. Information on how we record this information in Infinite Campus can be found here.	Academics
3700	3700 S. High Street	Location of many administrative offices at the old Southland Mall building (also known as “Southland”). Here you will find offices for Curriculum, Transformation & Leadership, Human Resources, Legal, and more.
504	504 plan	Refers to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, which specifies that no one with a disability can be excluded from participating in federally funded programs or activities, including elementary, secondary or postsecondary schooling.	Academics
A	[return to top]
AA	Alternate Assessment	Used for students with cognitive disabilities who are exempt from Statewide Testing	Testing
ACE	Adult & Community Education	Adult Workforce Education courses can be taken in health occupations, skilled trades, and computer applications.
ABC	Association Building Council	(½ elected and ½ appointed every year)
ACT	American College Test	College entrance test	Testing
ACTR	Attendance Change Tracking Report	Report that shows all attendance transactions in Infinite Campus
ADA	Average Daily Attendance	number of days a student is present
ADD / ADHD	Attention Deficit Disorder / Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
ADM	Average Daily Membership	number of days a student is expected to be at school, based on date of enrollment
AIR	American Institutes for Research	Produces tests for social studies, math, English, and science	Testing
ALEKS	Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces	ALEKS is a research-based, online learning program that offers course products for Math, Chemistry, Statistics, and more.
AP	Advanced Placement	The Advanced Placement Program® (AP) enables willing and academically prepared students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school. The program consists of college-level courses developed by the AP Program that high schools can choose to offer, and corresponding exams that are administered once a year.
APE	Adaptive Physical Education
ASL	American Sign Language
ASCA	American School Counselor Association	The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) supports school counselors' efforts to help students focus on academic, career and social/emotional development so they achieve success in school and are prepared to lead fulfilling lives as responsible members of society. ASCA provides professional development, publications and other resources, research and advocacy to school counselors around the globe.
AYP	Adequate Yearly Progress	Adequate yearly progress (AYP) is the measure by which schools, districts, and states are held accountable for student performance under Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)
B	[return to top]
BAA	Behavior / Attendance Audit Report	The Behavior Attendance Audit report in Infinite Campus identifies students who have behavior resolutions not linked to an entry in their attendance record, attendance codes not linked to a behavior resolution type or errors/conflicts in the date and time fields of the resolutions.
BAS	Benchmark Assessment System
BBBS	Big Brothers Big Sisters	Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio is all about mentoring! We match caring volunteers with kids facing adversity to provide professionally-supported, structured mentoring relationships that have a measurable positive impact on our youth, our mentors and our community.
BCMH	Bureau of Children with Medical Handicaps		Health
BIP	Behavior Intervention Plan		SPED
BLT	Building Leadership Team
BOE	Board of Education	Columbus City Schools Board of Education
BOY	Beginning of the Year	Often used in reference to testing periods	Testing
C	[return to top]
CARE	Crisis And Response Emergency team	school based response team activated by Incident Commander/building principal, led by school counselor; assists with accountability, providing emotional support and aftermath procedures during a crisis.
CAHS	Columbus Alternative High School
CCIP	Comprehensive Continuous Improvement Plan
CCP	College Credit Plus	College Credit Plus is Ohio’s dual enrollment program that provides students in grades 7-12 the opportunity to earn college and high school credits at the same time by taking courses from Ohio colleges or universities.
CCRC	Career & Community Resource Coordinator
CCS	Columbus City Schools	Columbus City Schools, established in 1845, is Ohio’s largest school district, serving the needs of more than 51,000 students in 109 schools.
CCSDAS	Columbus City Schools Distributed Application Services	Portal for custom CCS applications built to manage internal processes and workflows.
CD	Cognitive Disability	“Cognitive disabilities” is a term that refers to a broad range of conditions that include intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorders, severe, persistent mental illness, brain injury, stroke, and Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.	SPED
CEA	Columbus Education Association	The Columbus Education Association developed from two organizations: The Women’s Teachers’ Association and the Columbus Men’s Teachers’ Alliance, both formed in the late 1800s. In April of 1925, the organizations merged and became the Columbus Teacher Federation, then became the Columbus Education Association in June of 1951. The organization’s name deliberately reflected its close association with OEA and NEA
CEC / CE	Central Enrollment Center	Located at 430 Cleveland Avenue - for student enrollment
CEC	Columbus Education Center	Also known as Central Office; 270 E. State Street, Columbus, OH 43215
CEU	Continuing Education Unit	A continuing education unit (CEU) or continuing education credit (CEC) is a measure used in continuing education programs to assist the professional to maintain his or her license in their profession.
CHAMPs	Conversation, Help, Activity, Movement, Participation, Success	PBIS Positive Classroom Management
CHIP	Children's Health Insurance Program		Health
CHIP	Columbus Hearing Impaired Program	Columbus City Schools is able to offer a variety of services to meet the needs of over 220 central Ohio students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing from preschool through twelfth grade. CHIP is a one-of-a-kind program in Columbus.
COGAT	COGnitive Abilities Test	group administered cognitive abilities test	Testing
COHAT	Children's Oral Health ActionTeam		Health
CPI	Crisis Prevention & Intervention
CTE	Career Technical Education
D	[return to top]
DAW	Dispense As Written		Health
DD	Developmentally Delayed/Disabled
DFYF	Directions for Youth and Families
DRA	Developmental Reading Assessment
DYS	Department of Youth Services
E	[return to top]
EAP	Employee Assistance Program	Guidance Resources 1-800-774-6420
ECE	Early Childhood Education
ED	Emotionally Disturbed		SPED
EIS	Early Intervention Services	Services provided to a child with a disability or developmental delay from birth through age 2.	SPED
ELA	English / Language Arts
EL / ELL	English Learner / English Language Learner
ELO	Extended Learning Opportunity
EMIS	Education Management Information System	The Education Management Information System (EMIS) is a statewide data collection system for Ohio's primary and secondary education, including demographic information, attendance, course information, financial data, and test results.
EOC	End of Course	Refers to exams given to high school students at the completion of certain courses. For each of the seven end-of-course state tests, a student earns one to five graduation points. Students have the potential to earn a total of 35 points. To meet this graduation pathway, a student must earn a minimum number of 18 points from the seven tests.	Testing
EOY	End of the Year	Often used in reference to testing periods	Testing
EPSDT	Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment		Health
ESL	English as a Second Language
ESC	Educational Service Center	Serving students, educators, schools and partners through customized programs, services and professional development
ESS	Employee Self Service	MUNIS application for employees
ESSA	Every Student Succeeds Act	The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is a US law passed in December 2015 that governs the United States K–12 public education policy.^[1] The law replaced its predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and modified but did not eliminate provisions relating to the periodic standardized tests given to students.^[2]^[3] Like the No Child Left Behind Act, ESSA is a reauthorization of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which established the federal government's expanded role in public education.
ESSER	Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund
ETR	Evaluation Team Report	ETR is conducted at least every 3 years, and between preschool and school-aged services to determine a student’s eligibility for special education services.	SPED
F	[return to top]
FAFSA	Free Application for Federal Student Aid	The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the form you need to fill out to get any financial aid from the federal government to help pay for college.
FAPE	Free Appropriate Public Education		SPED
FBA	Functional Behavior Assessment		SPED
FCCS	Franklin County Children's Services	Through collaboration with families and their communities, we advocate for the safety, permanency and well-being of each child we serve in a manner that honors family and culture.
FERPA	Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act	The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 is a United States federal law that governs the access to educational information and records by public entities such as potential employers, publicly funded educational institutions, and foreign governments.
FR	Faculty Representative	building union representative elected every-2-odd years
FTE	Full Time Equivalent	The ratio of the total number of paid hours during a period (part time, full time, contracted) by the number of working hours in that period Mondays through Fridays. For example: 3 employees work 50 hours, 40 hours, and 10 hours per week - totaling 100 hours. Assuming a full-time equals 40 hours per week, FTE calculation is 100 hours divided by 40 hours, or 2.5 FTE.
G	[return to top]
GPA	Grade Point Average
GSA	Gay Straight Alliance
GT	Gifted & Talented
H	[return to top]
HB410	House Bill 410	In December 2016, the Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 410 to encourage and support a preventative approach to excessive absences and truancy.
HEP	Higher Education Programs
HI	Hearing Impaired
HI	High-Incidence
HR	Human Resources	Now known as the Talent Department
HS	High School
HIPAA	Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
I	[return to top]
IPASS	Individualized Plan for Attainment of Success in School	Replaced by Options for Success (O4S) and later by The Support Center
IAT	Intervention Assistance Team	made up of counselor, nurse, psychologist, teacher(s), parent, student, and/or administrator
IB	International Baccalaureate	Columbus Alternative HS (CAHS) is the only school at CCS that offers IB courses and programs
IC	Infinite Campus	Student Information System used by Columbus City Schools
ID	Intellectual Disability		SPED
IDEA	Individuals with Disabilities Education Act	The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a law that makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation and ensures special education and related services to those children. The IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to more than 6.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities.	SPED
IEP	Individual Educational Plan	written by SpEd teacher to accommodate for student learning styles)	SPED
IKIC	I Know I Can	Free Access to College Program for CCS Students only
ILEAD	Induction, Leadership, and Evaluation to Achieve & Develop	evaluation system the tab is located under STAFF on the CCS website
IOE	Inter-District Open Enrollment
IPDP	Individual Professional Development Plan	used for license renewal
iReady	Adaptive assessment designed to provide teachers with actionable insight into student needs.	3GRG Alternative Assessment	Testing, EMIS
IRN	Information Retrieval Number
IS	Intervention Specialist
IT	Information Technology
IV- InView		national test measuring cognitive abilities used for GT programs	Testing
J	[return to top]
JDC	Juvenile Detention Center
K	[return to top]
KRA	Kindergarten Readiness Assessment
L	[return to top]
LEA	Local Education Agency
LEP	Limited English Proficiency
LETRS	Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading & Spelling	Reading/Writing Professional Development
LGBTQ	Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (or Questioning)
LI	Leadership Intern
LLI	Leveled Literacy Intervention
LPDC	Local Professional Development Committee
LRE	Least Restrictive Environment		SPED
M	[return to top]
MAP	Measure of Academic Progress		Testing
MD	Multiple Disabilities		SPED
MDR	Manifestation Determination Review
MFE	Multi-Factored Evaluation	MFE stands for multi-factored evaluation, it’s the ‘new’ term for an ETR or Evaluation Team Report. The Multi-Factored Evaluation is the process required by IDEA to determine if a child is eligible for special education services. The process may be initiated by either school personnel or a parent.	SPED
MH	Multiple Handicaps		SPED
MOU	Memorandum of Understanding
MOY	Middle of the Year	Often used in reference to testing periods	Testing
MS	Middle School
MTSS	Multi-tiered System of Supports
MUNIS		District ERP Software (Human Resources, Payroll, Benefits)
N	[return to top]
NACAC	National Association for College Admission Counseling
Naglieri		non-verbal assessment qualifying students for GT services	Testing
NAPH	Name Address Personal History		Health
NBCT	National Board Certified Teacher
NCAA	National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCH	Nationwide Children’s Hospital
ND	Not Determined	If a student enrolls with CCS without complete documentation (transcript, grade cards, etc), we will still enroll the student, but put them in this ‘placeholder’ grade in Infinite Campus until an actual grade can be determined. Only used in High School.
NEA	National Education Association
NCLB	No Child Left Behind
NWEA-MAP	Northwest Evaluation Association - Measures of Academic Progress	3GRG Alternative Assessment	Testing, EMIS
O	[return to top]
OACAC	Ohio Association for College Admission Counseling
OASFAA	Ohio Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
OCAN	Ohio College Access Network
OCECD	Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities		SPED
OCR	Office of Civil Rights
ODE / ODEW	Ohio Department of Education & Workforce	As of Oct 17, 2023 , ODE has been renamed Ohio Department of Education & Workforce (article).
ODDEX	Ohio District Data EXchange
OEA	Ohio Education Association
OEDS	Ohio Education Directory System
OELPA	Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessment		Testing
OFS	Options for Success	No longer in use (previously known as IPASS). Now known as The Support Center
OHI	Other Health Impairment		SPED
OHSAA	Ohio High School Athletic Association
OI	Orthopedic Impairment		SPED
OIA	Office of Internal Auditor
OIP	Ohio Improvement Process
OLRS	Ohio Legal Rights Services		SPED
OPES	Ohio Principal Evaluation System
ORC	Ohio Revised Code
OSCA	Ohio School Counselor’s Association
OSCES	Ohio School Counselor Evaluation System
OSS	Out of School Suspension
OST	Ohio State Tests	another name for AIR.	Testing
OT	Occupational Therapist		SPED
OTES	Ohio Teacher Evaluation System
P	[return to top]
PALS	Postive Alternative Learning for Students
PAR	Peer Assistance & Review	(office: 365-5110)
PBIS	Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support
PD	Professional Development
PDS	Professional Development System	sign up, CEUs, etc for PD
PEAK	Positive Effort for Adjustment and Knowledge
PLC	Professional Learning Communities
PLL	Professional Learning & Licensure
PLS	Primary Literary Specialist
PLTW	Project Lead the Way	technology courses with special curriculum
POD	Point of Distribution
POG	Portrait of a Graduate
PSAT	Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test		Testing
PSC	Professional School Counselor
PT	Physical Therapist		SPED
R	[return to top]
RD	Reading Determination	Elementary students who enroll without complete documentation confirming that the met the requirements of 3GRG are placed in this temporary grade level in Infinite Campus until it can be determined whether they should be in 3rd or 4th grade.
RE	Resident Educator
RESA	Resident Educator Summative Assessment
RFP	Request for Proposal
RIMP	Reading Improvement & Monitoring Plan
ROX	Ruling Our Experiences	a female-empowerment group
RTI	Response to Intervention
S	[return to top]
S2S	Seniors to Sophomores	students are full-time on a college campus, finishing their HS diploma requirements and earning credits to full-fill Freshman Year of College: more info 365-8600)
SAFE	Security Application for Enterprise
SAT	Scholastic Aptitude Test	college entrance test (www.collegeboard.com)	Testing
SBC	Site Based Council
SBIRT	Screening, Brief Intervention & Referral to Treatment	for substance use	Health
SCSC	School Counselor Social Committee
SDC	Secure Data Center		EMIS
SDI	Specifically Designed Instruction
SDS	Student Data Specialist
SED	Severe Emotional Disturbance
SEL	Social and Emotional Learning	Social emotional learning (SEL) is a methodology that helps students of all ages to better comprehend their emotions, to feel those emotions fully, and demonstrate empathy for others.
SERS	School Employees Retirement System
SFR	Senior Faculty Rep
SIG	School Improvement Grant
SIS	Student Information System
SLC	Specialized Learning Center
SLD	Specific Learning Disability		SPED
SLP	Speech Language Pathologist
SLO	Student Learning Objectives
SLP	Speech Language Pathologist		SPED
SNP	Special Needs Preschool
SOS	Signs of Suicide		Health
SOS	Student Outreach Services
SPED	Special Education		SPED
SSDI	Social Security Disability Income
SSI	Social Security Income
SSID	Statewide Student Identifier		EMIS
STAR	STandardized Testing and Reporting	3GRG Alternative Assessment	Testing, EMIS
STEM	Science, Technology, Engineering & Math
STEAM	Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math
STRS	State Teachers Retirement System
T	[return to top]
TBI	Traumatic Brain Injury
TBT	Teacher-based Teams
TDH	Transitional Developmental Handicap		SPED
TerraNova	TerraNova	3GRG Alternative Test - TerraNova is a series of standardized achievement tests used in the United States designed to assess K-12 student achievement in reading, language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, vocabulary, spelling, and other areas.	Testing
TESOL	Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
TIDE	Test Information Distribution Engine		Testing
TN	Terra Nova	national test of student achievement	Testing
TOR	Teacher of Record
TOSA	Teacher On Special Assignment
U	[return to top]
URL	Uniform Resource Locator	website address, for example: www.google.com
V	[return to top]
VCAP	Virtual Credit Advancement Program
VI	Visual Impairment		SPED
W	[return to top]
WAP	Written Acceleration Plan		Gifted
WEP	Written Education Plan		Gifted
X	[return to top]

Y	[return to top]
YAS	Youth Advocate Services
YEP	Year-End Processing	Term used for a series of steps taken each year to prepare the student information system for the upcoming school year
YSP	Young Scholars Program	selective program providing college access to 8th grade students
Z	[return to top]