Occasionally, the acronym is used first and throughout. And, sometimes, the full name of the term is used more than once.
This blog is written by a human, not a bot.
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The following is a list of some common civic, education, and municipal acronyms, many used and/or referenced on this blog:
AC: Appropriation Committee (see TM)
ACLU: American Civil Liberties Union
ACT: American College Test
ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act
ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
AFAM: Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts
AFT: American Federation of Teachers
AP: Advanced Placement
ASD: Autism Spectrum Disorder
ASE: Administrators of Special Education
ATM: Annual Town Meeting (see TM)
BESE: Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
BPS: Boston Public Schools
BOE: Board of Education, Board of Ed
BOS: Board of Selectmen (see SB)
BSEA: Bureau of Special Education Appeals
CAC: Communications Advisory Committee
CBO: Congressional Budget Office
CCSSO: Council of Chief State School Officers
CD: Congressional District
CEC: Capital Expenditures Committee (TM)
CFA: Council for the Arts
COA: Council on Aging
COBRA: Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
CORI: Criminal Offender Record Information
CPA: Community Preservation Act
CPC: Community Preservation Committee
CPAC: Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee
CPS: Citizens for Public Schools
CTE: Career Technical Education (Sometimes, CVTE. Note also that CTE refers to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy; however, that acronym in that particular context has yet to be used here.)
CVTE: Career Vocational Technical Education (Note that there isn't universal agreement on the use of this acronym over CTE.)
DDS: Department of Developmental Services
DESE: Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; The Department
DHE: Department of Higher Education
DMod: Deputy Moderator (see TM)
DMod: Deputy Moderator (see TM)
DOE: Department of Education
DPH: Department of Public Health
DSS: Department of Social Services
EEC: Early Education & Care
EL: English Learner (Noting here the transition from ELL to EL)
ELL: English Language Learner
EOE: Executive Office of Education
ES: Elementary School
ESL: English as a Second Language
ESOL: English for Speakers of Other Languages
ESEA: Elementary and Secondary Education Act (landmark legislation of 1965 that dedicated federal funds to improve educational equity to students from economically disadvantaged families; President Johnson's bill proclaiming a "war on poverty")
ESSA: Every Student Succeeds Act (So named, following reauthorization of ESEA in 2015)
FERPA: Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act
GAO: United States Government Accountability Office
HDC: Historic Districts Commission
HIPAA: Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (Note that this acronym is frequently, and erroneously, written as "HIPPA")
HE: Higher Education, Higher Ed
HE: Higher Education, Higher Ed
HS: High School
IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act
IEP: Individual Education Plan
IP or IP'd: Indefinitely Postpone, Indefinitely Postponed
LCC: Lexington Community Center
LCP: Lexington Children's Place
LDTC: Lexington Democratic Town Committee
LEA: Local Education Agency (Nationally, it is commonly referred to in federal education legislation and regulation. Locally, it also happens to be the acronym for the Lexington Education Association, an affiliation of the Massachusetts Teachers Association.)
LEF: Lexington Education Foundation
LEND: Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities
LexHAB: Lexington Housing Assistance Board
LEA: Local Education Agency (Nationally, it is commonly referred to in federal education legislation and regulation. Locally, it also happens to be the acronym for the Lexington Education Association, an affiliation of the Massachusetts Teachers Association.)
LEF: Lexington Education Foundation
LEND: Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities
LexHAB: Lexington Housing Assistance Board
LWV: League of Women Voters
MA: Massachusetts
MAC: Massachusetts Advocates for Children
MAC: Massachusetts Advocates for Children
MAPC: Metropolitan Area Planning Council
MASBO: Massachusetts Association of School Business Officials
MASBO: Massachusetts Association of School Business Officials
MASC: Massachusetts Association of School Committees
MASS: Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents
MCAS: Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System
MCIEA: Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education Assessment
METCO: The Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity
MGL: Massachusetts General Laws
MIAA: Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association
MIS: Management Information System
MLN: Media Literacy Now
MLN: Media Literacy Now
MMA: Massachusetts Municipal Association
MOOC: Massive Open Online Courses
MPTA: Massachusetts Parent Teacher Association
MS: Middle School
MSBA: Massachusetts School Building Authority
MSAA: Massachusetts School Administrators' Association (formerly, Massachusetts Elementary School Principals' Association and Massachusetts Secondary Schools Administrators' Association; the two associations merged in 2017)
MSAA: Massachusetts School Administrators' Association (formerly, Massachusetts Elementary School Principals' Association and Massachusetts Secondary Schools Administrators' Association; the two associations merged in 2017)
MTA: Massachusetts Teachers Association
MTEL: Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure
NASBE: National Association of State Boards of Education
NCLB: No Child Left Behind (so called, following reauthorization of ESEA in 2002)
NCLB: No Child Left Behind (so called, following reauthorization of ESEA in 2002)
NEAP: National Assessment of Educational Progress
NEASC: New England Association of Schools and Colleges
NOmic/NO: NO Microphone (speaking in opposition to a proposed MOTION at Lexington Town Meeting)
NOmic/NO: NO Microphone (speaking in opposition to a proposed MOTION at Lexington Town Meeting)
NPS: National Park Service
NYC: New York City
OCPF: Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance
OML: Open Meeting Law
OPEB: Other Post Employment Benefits
OCPF: Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance
OML: Open Meeting Law
OPEB: Other Post Employment Benefits
PARCC: Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career
PBC: Permanent Building Committee (Lexington)
PBC: Permanent Building Committee (Lexington)
PCBs: Polychlorinated Biphenyls
PDM: Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts
PE: Physical Education
PE: Physical Education
PFML: Paid Family and Medical Leave
PLN: Professional Learning Network
PSDUP: Preliminary Site Development and Use Plan (Lexington, primarily)
PLN: Professional Learning Network
PSDUP: Preliminary Site Development and Use Plan (Lexington, primarily)
PTA: Parent Teacher Association
SB: Select Board (Previously referred to as "Board of Selectmen", renamed following a VOTE by Lexington Town Meeting on March 27, 2019)
SBM: Select Board Member (as above)
SCA: Safe Communities Act
SPED: Special Education (note students first when using, as in "students of special education", not "special education students")
STM: Special Town Meeting
TANF: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
TM: Town Meeting (Lexington, unless otherwise indicated)
TMM: Town Meeting Member (Lexington, primarily)
TMMA: Lexington Town Meeting Members Association
TMgr: Town Manager
TMod: Town Moderator (see TM)
TM: Town Meeting (Lexington, unless otherwise indicated)
TMM: Town Meeting Member (Lexington, primarily)
TMMA: Lexington Town Meeting Members Association
TMgr: Town Manager
TMod: Town Moderator (see TM)
TESOL: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (also, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)