Terms Used In Arizona Laws > Title 15 > Chapter 7 - Instruction

• Accessible electronic file: means , until a national file format is adopted by the United States department of education, a digital file in a mutually agreed on by the publisher and the local educational agency electronic file format that has been prepared using a markup language that maintains the structural integrity of the information and can be processed by conversion software. See Arizona Laws 15-731
• Accommodation school: means either:

  (a) A school that is operated through the county board of supervisors and the county school superintendent and that the county school superintendent administers to serve a military reservation or territory that is not included within the boundaries of a school district. See Arizona Laws 15-101

• Account: means withdrawable capital deposited with or invested in an association in accordance with any plan authorized by this chapter unless such term is otherwise designated or qualified. See Arizona Laws 6-401
• Adult: means a person who has attained eighteen years of age. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Association: means every association to which this chapter applies as defined in the section concerning scope of chapter. See Arizona Laws 6-401
• Authorized entity: means an authorized entity, as defined by 17 United States Code § 121, that commonly provides alternative format school materials that are accessible by schools in this state and that has the vendor's authorization to make alternative formats. See Arizona Laws 15-731
• Autism: means a developmental disability that significantly affects verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction and that adversely affects educational performance. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• Automated teller machine: means an automated device that is established by a bank, savings and loan association or credit union and that facilitates customer-bank communications activities, including taking deposits and disbursing cash drawn against a customer's deposit account or a customer's preapproved loan account, at a location separate from the home office or a branch. See Arizona Laws 6-101
• Average daily membership: means the total enrollment of fractional students and full-time students, minus withdrawals, of each school day through the first one hundred days or two hundred days in session, as applicable, for the current year. See Arizona Laws 15-901
• Base: means the revenue level per student count specified by the legislature. See Arizona Laws 15-901
• Board examination system: means a complete instructional system that includes all of the following components:

  (a) A coherent group of courses that collectively constitutes a core curriculum at the high school level. See Arizona Laws 15-792.01

• Branch: means any banking office other than the principal banking office. See Arizona Laws 6-101
• Career and technical education and vocational education: means vocational and technical preparation programs for pupils in grades nine through twelve. See Arizona Laws 15-781
• Charter school: means a public school established by contract with the state board of education, the state board for charter schools, a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents, a community college district or a group of community college districts pursuant to article 8 of this chapter to provide learning that will improve pupil achievement. See Arizona Laws 15-101
• Child with a disability: means a child with a disability as defined in section 15-761. See Arizona Laws 15-101
• Child with a disability: means a pupil who is subject to an individualized education program pursuant to the individuals with disabilities education act (20 United States Code §§ 1400 through 1415) or a pupil with a section 504 plan, and whose section 504 accommodation plan requires the use of instructional materials in a specialized format. See Arizona Laws 15-731
• Common school district: means a political subdivision of this state offering instruction to students in programs for preschool children with disabilities and kindergarten programs and either:

  (a) Grades one through eight. See Arizona Laws 15-901

• Competency: means a demonstrated ability in a skill at a specified performance level. See Arizona Laws 15-101
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Course: means organized subject matter in which instruction is offered within a given period of time and for which credit toward promotion, graduation or certification is usually given. See Arizona Laws 15-101
• Course of study: means a list of required and optional subjects to be taught in the schools. See Arizona Laws 15-101
• Current year: means the fiscal year in which a school district is operating. See Arizona Laws 15-901
• Daily attendance: means :

  (a) For common schools, days in which a pupil:

  (i) Of a kindergarten program or ungraded, but not group B children with disabilities, who is at least five, but under six, years of age by September 1 attends at least three-quarters of the instructional time scheduled for the day. See Arizona Laws 15-901

• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deputy director: means the deputy director of the financial institutions division of the department. See Arizona Laws 6-101
• Developmental delay: means performance by a child who is at least three years of age but under ten years of age on a norm-referenced test that measures at least one and one-half, but not more than three, standard deviations below the mean for children of the same chronological age in two or more of the following areas:

  (a) Cognitive development. See Arizona Laws 15-761

• Due process hearing: means a fair and impartial administrative hearing conducted by the state educational agency by an impartial administrative law judge in accordance with federal and state law. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• ELL: means English learners who do not speak English or whose native language is not English, who are not currently able to perform ordinary classroom work in English and who are enrolled in an English language education program pursuant to sections 15-751, 15-752 and 15-753. See Arizona Laws 15-901
• Emotional disability: means a condition:

  (a) In which a child exhibits one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects the child's performance in the educational environment:

  (i) An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory or health factors. See Arizona Laws 15-761

• enrollment: means that a pupil is currently registered in the school district. See Arizona Laws 15-901
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Fiscal year: means the year beginning July 1 and ending June 30. See Arizona Laws 15-101
• Full-time student: means :

  (i) For common schools, a student who is at least six years of age before January 1 of a school year, who has not graduated from the highest grade taught in the school district and who is regularly enrolled in a course of study required by the state board of education. See Arizona Laws 15-901

• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Gifted education: means appropriate academic course offerings and services that are required to provide an educational program that is an integral part of the regular school day and that is commensurate with the academic abilities and potential of a gifted pupil. See Arizona Laws 15-779
• Gifted pupil: means a child who is of lawful school age, who due to superior intellect or advanced learning ability, or both, is not afforded an opportunity for otherwise attainable progress and development in regular classroom instruction and who needs appropriate gifted education services, to achieve at levels commensurate with the child's intellect and ability. See Arizona Laws 15-779
• Governing board: means a body organized for the government and management of the schools within a school district or a county school superintendent in the conduct of an accommodation school. See Arizona Laws 15-101
• Grand Canyon diploma: means a high school diploma that is offered to any student who demonstrates readiness for college level mathematics and English according to standards prescribed by an interstate compact on board examination systems, who has passing grades on an additional set of required approved board examinations in core academic courses as determined by the state board of education, including the arts, history and science, and who successfully completes a course in economics. See Arizona Laws 15-792.01
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Hearing impairment: means a loss of hearing acuity, as determined by evaluation pursuant to section 15-766, that interferes with the child's performance in the educational environment and requires the provision of special education and related services. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• High school district: means a political subdivision of this state offering instruction to students for grades nine through twelve or that portion of the budget of a common school district that is allocated to teaching high school subjects with permission of the state board of education. See Arizona Laws 15-901
• Home school district: means the school district or charter school that the child last attended or, if the child has not previously attended a public school in this state, the school district in which the person resides who has legal custody of the child, as provided in section 15-824, subsection B. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• Impartial administrative law judge: means an administrative law judge of the office of administrative hearings who is knowledgeable in the laws governing special education and administrative hearings. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• Individualized education program: means a written statement, as defined in 20 United States Code §§ 1401 and 1412, for providing special education and related services to a child with a disability. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• Individualized education program team: means a team whose task is to develop an appropriate educational program for the child and has the same meaning prescribed in 20 United States Code § 1414. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• instructional time: means hours or time spent pursuant to an instructional time model adopted under Section 15-901. See Arizona Laws 15-901
• Insured association: means an association, the accounts of which are insured wholly or in part by an insurance corporation. See Arizona Laws 6-401
• Intellectual disability: means a significant impairment of general intellectual functioning that exists concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and that adversely affects the child's performance in the educational environment. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Markup: The process by which congressional committees and subcommittees debate, amend, and rewrite proposed legislation.
• Mild intellectual disability: means performance on standard measures of intellectual and adaptive behavior between two and three standard deviations below the mean for children of the same age. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• Minor: means a person under eighteen years of age. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Moderate intellectual disability: means performance on standard measures of intellectual and adaptive behavior between three and four standard deviations below the mean for children of the same age. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Multiple disabilities: means learning and developmental problems resulting from multiple disabilities as determined by evaluation pursuant to section 15-766 that cannot be provided for adequately in a program designed to meet the needs of children with less complex disabilities. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• Multiple disabilities with severe sensory impairment: means multiple disabilities that include at least one of the following:

  (a) Severe visual impairment or severe hearing impairment in combination with another severe disability. See Arizona Laws 15-761

• Nontest: means not relating to knowledge or skills in reading, writing, mathematics, social studies, science or any other course. See Arizona Laws 15-101
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Occupation: means the principal employment, paid or unpaid, of a person. See Arizona Laws 15-781
• Orthopedic impairment: means one or more severe orthopedic impairments and includes those that are caused by congenital anomaly, disease and other causes, such as amputation or cerebral palsy, and that adversely affect a child's performance in the educational environment. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• Other health impairments: means limited strength, vitality or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, due to chronic or acute health problems that adversely affect a pupil's educational performance. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• Out-of-home care: means the placement of a child with a disability outside of the home environment and includes twenty-four-hour residential care, group care or foster care on either a full-time or part-time basis. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• Parent: means :

  (a) Either a natural or adoptive parent of a child. See Arizona Laws 15-761

• Parent: means the natural or adoptive parent of a child or a person who has custody of a child. See Arizona Laws 15-101
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association or public or private organization of any kind. See Arizona Laws 15-101
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, things in action and evidences of debt. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Population: means the population according to the most recent United States decennial census. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Preschool child: means a child who is at least three years of age but who has not reached the required age for kindergarten, subject to section 15-771, subsection G. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• Preschool severe delay: means performance by a preschool child on a norm-referenced test that measures more than three standard deviations below the mean for children of the same chronological age in one or more of the following areas:

  (a) Cognitive development. See Arizona Laws 15-761

• Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
• Prior written notice: means written prior notice that a public educational agency is required to send to parents whenever the public educational agency proposes or refuses to initiate or change the identification, evaluation or educational placement of a child with a disability or the provision of a free appropriate public education. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• Private school: means a nonpublic institution where instruction is imparted. See Arizona Laws 15-101
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Profits: means , as determined by the application of proper accounting principles, gross income less the aggregate of operating and other expenses, losses actually sustained and not charged to reserves under this chapter and interest paid or accrued on borrowings and non-recurring charges. See Arizona Laws 6-401
• Program improvement services: means those activities, services and functions carried out to develop, support and improve the quality of career and technical education and vocational education programs, including teacher education, curriculum, guidance and administration. See Arizona Laws 15-781
• Property: includes both real and personal property. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Public educational agency: means a school district, a charter school, an accommodation school, a state-supported institution or any other political subdivision of this state that is responsible for providing education to children with disabilities. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• public school: means any public institution established for the purposes of offering instruction to pupils in programs for preschool children with disabilities, kindergarten programs or any combination of elementary grades or secondary grades one through twelve. See Arizona Laws 15-101
• published: means printed in the English language in a newspaper of general circulation published in the community in which the association's business office is located or if no such newspaper exists in said community then in the county in which such business office is located. See Arizona Laws 6-401
• Regular school day: means the regularly scheduled class periods intended for instructional purposes. See Arizona Laws 15-901
• Related services: means those supportive services, as defined in 20 United States Code § 1401, that are required to assist a child with a disability who is eligible to receive special education services in order for the child to benefit from special education. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• Residential special education placement: means placing a child with a disability in a public or private residential program, as provided in section 15-765, subsection G, in order to provide necessary special education and related services as specified in the child's individualized education program. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• School district: means a political subdivision of this state with geographic boundaries organized for the purpose of the administration, support and maintenance of the public schools or an accommodation school. See Arizona Laws 15-101
• Special education: means specially designed instruction that meets the unique needs of a child with a disability and that is provided without cost to the parents of the child. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• Specially designed instruction: means adapting the content, methodology or delivery of instruction to address the unique needs of a child with a disability and to ensure that child's access to the general curriculum as identified in the academic standards adopted by the state board of education. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• State educational agency: means the department of education. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• Structural integrity: means the structure of all parts of the printed instructional material is kept intact to the extent feasible and as mutually agreed on by the publisher and the local educational agency. See Arizona Laws 15-731
• Student count: means average daily membership as prescribed in this subsection for the fiscal year before the current year, except that for the purpose of budget preparation student count means average daily membership as prescribed in this subsection for the current year. See Arizona Laws 15-901
• Subject: means a division or field of organized knowledge, such as English or mathematics, or a selection from an organized body of knowledge for a course or teaching unit, such as the English novel or elementary algebra. See Arizona Laws 15-101
• Surrogate parent: means a person who has been appointed by the court or by the department of education pursuant to Section 15-763. See Arizona Laws 15-761
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Unified school district: means a political subdivision of this state offering instruction to students in programs for preschool children with disabilities and kindergarten programs and grades one through twelve. See Arizona Laws 15-901
• Unpaid employment: means work in recognized occupations for which there is no direct financial compensation. See Arizona Laws 15-781
• Vendor: means a person or entity that offers printed or nonprinted instructional materials for commercial sale to a school district and other public schools. See Arizona Laws 15-731
• Vocational and technical preparation: means an organized set of specialized courses which is directly related to the preparation of persons for occupations that normally do not require a baccalaureate or advanced degree for paid or unpaid employment or advancement and which is designed in total to provide a pupil with sufficient skills for entry into an occupation. See Arizona Laws 15-781