A Guide to Common Acronyms Used in Online Education

School documents can look like alphabet soup, with a dizzying array of acronyms and abbreviations, especially for children who receive special education services. To help make sense of it all, use this guide to decode common education and K¹²-specific acronyms and terms you may encounter.

• 504 –“ 504” refers to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, a 1973 federal law which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. A 504 plan is a document outlining the accommodations and modifications that will be made in order to meet the needs of students with mental or physical impairments and provide equal access to the same education as their peers.
• AIP – Academic Improvement Plan. This is a document written for students who are below proficiency on state assessments. The plan details support and interventions that will be made in order to improve the student’s academic performance.
• Asynchronous – Interaction that is not live. Examples of asynchronous communication include email and threaded online discussion boards in which responses may not be immediate. Online learning is often asynchronous in that it takes place outside of the constraints of time and place, and may make use of asynchronous forms of communication.
• CFI – Change of Family Information.
• Class Connect – Live homeroom courses taught using the Elluminate program, providing direct academic instruction to small groups of students.
• Elluminate – An online collaboration tool that allows teachers, students, and parents to interact in a live environment
• GATE – Gifted and Talented Education program offers unique educational opportunities to students identified as gifted and talented.
• IEP – Individual Education Plan. An IEP is a document that outlines the unique educational needs of a child who may have a disability, describes the educational goals for the child and special services and support that will be provided to help the student reach them.
• FYP – Finding Your Path course. A high school orientation course unique to each student in which students explore their education and career interests, define goals, and create a path through high school that will get them there.
• ILP – Individual Learning Plan. K¹²'s Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) maps out a student's multi-year personalized learning strategy, taking into account the student’s academic strengths, weaknesses and personal goals.
• LMS – Learning Management System. The LMS is the state-of-the-art learning environment where courses are housed for high school students. Shortcut: online.k12.com
• ISP – Internet Service Provider
• K12 – K12, Inc., the curriculum provider and management company
• MyInfo - The MyInfo tool is a secure, in-system messaging center that allows direct communication between the parent/student and teachers, advisors, and counselors. Within a parent account, MyInfo allows users to view shipments, and enter students’ attendance and course progress. Shortcut: myinfo.k12.com
• OLS – The K12 Online School (OLS) is the learning management system for K-8 courses. Shortcut: online.k12.com
• Scantron - Scantron Achievement and Performance Assessments are a powerful web-based assessment program used to pinpoint student proficiency levels, to guide the creation of the student’s Individualized Learning Plan, and to measure progress over the school year.
• TV – Total View is a staff tool that allows completely secure internal communications between teachers and students/parents, and allows staff to view attendance and student progress. Shortcut: totalviewschool.k12.com
• B&M – Short for brick and mortar, or traditional schools that have a physical location or building.