Italian Special Education Terminology: English Glossary for School Meetings

Italian special education meetings are conducted entirely in Italian, move quickly, and assume familiarity with a dense set of acronyms and legal concepts. Walking into a GLO meeting without knowing what GLO stands for — or understanding the difference between a PEI and a PDP, a verbale and a relazione — leaves families unable to participate meaningfully in decisions about their child's education.

This glossary covers the core terminology you will encounter. Knowing these terms changes your position in the room from confused observer to active participant.

The Legal Framework

Legge 104/1992 — The primary disability rights law. Guarantees school support (insegnante di sostegno, individualized education plan) for students with physical, intellectual, or sensory disabilities. The foundation of most advocacy rights.

Articolo 3, Comma 1 — A designation under Law 104 indicating a disability that causes learning or relationship difficulties. Typically results in partial support hours.

Articolo 3, Comma 3 (disabilità grave) — Severe disability requiring continuous, intensive assistance. Entitles the student to maximum support hours (potentially covering the full school week) and may include communication and autonomy assistants. This distinction determines the level of resource allocation the school can request.

Legge 170/2010 — The framework for Specific Learning Disorders (DSA). Covers dyslexia, dysgraphia, dysorthographia, and dyscalculia. Students under this law receive a PDP and compensatory tools, but not a dedicated support teacher.

D.Lgs. 66/2017 / D.Lgs. 96/2019 — Legislative decrees that reformed the inclusion process, introducing the ICF framework and restructuring the PEI. The basis for current GLO procedures and formalized parental participation rights.

Direttiva Ministeriale 27/12/2012 — Ministerial directive establishing the BES framework for students with special educational needs beyond Law 104 and Law 170, including linguistic and socioeconomic disadvantage.

Medical and Certification Documents

Certificato Medico Introduttivo (CMI) — The introductory medical certificate issued by the family pediatrician to initiate the INPS process. Valid for 90 days. Without this, nothing else can begin.

Verbale (Verbale di accertamento dell'handicap) — The official decree issued by the INPS/ASL medical commission confirming disability status and severity level. This document is what legally obliges the school to convene the GLO and request a support teacher.

Profilo di Funzionamento — The Functioning Profile. A document drafted by the ASL multidisciplinary team using the ICF framework, describing the student's functional profile and the environmental barriers/facilitators in their school context. Replaces the older PDF (Profilo Dinamico Funzionale) under the 2017 reform.

ASL (Azienda Sanitaria Locale) — The local health authority. This is the entity that conducts the diagnostic evaluation, issues the Profilo di Funzionamento, and participates in GLO meetings. Different regions have different ASL structures.

NPI (Neuropsichiatria Infantile) — The child neuropsychiatry unit within the ASL. The team typically responsible for diagnosing and evaluating autism, ADHD, intellectual disabilities, and learning disorders in children.

INPS (Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale) — The national social security institute. Administers the formal disability certification process through which Law 104 rights are activated.

Patronato — A free welfare assistance office (run by trade unions or social organizations) that helps families navigate the INPS application process. Strongly recommended for expat families given the complexity of the Italian portal.

School Plans and Documents

PEI (Piano Educativo Individualizzato) — Individualized Educational Plan. The Italian equivalent of an IEP, drafted by the GLO for students under Law 104. Covers four dimensions: socialization/interaction, communication/language, autonomy/orientation, and cognitive/learning goals. Specifies support hours, compensatory tools, dispensatory measures, and academic objectives.

PDP (Piano Didattico Personalizzato) — Personalized Teaching Plan. For students under Law 170 (DSA) or BES. Specifies compensatory tools and dispensatory measures but does not grant a support teacher. Drafted by the class council, not the GLO.

PEI Provvisorio — Provisional PEI. Can be drafted if a student has preliminary clinical documentation indicating disability but has not yet received the final verbale. Allows the school to formally request a support teacher for the following academic year without waiting for the full certification to complete.

People and Roles

Insegnante di Sostegno — Support teacher. Assigned to the class (not exclusively to the individual student) to facilitate inclusive learning. Legally a co-responsible member of the class teaching team. Often the most visible special education presence in the school.

Supplente — Supply (substitute) teacher on a temporary annual contract. The majority of support teachers are supplenti rather than tenured staff, which drives the high turnover rate (57.3% of disabled students face a new support teacher each September).

Referente per l'Inclusione (or Referente BES) — The school's inclusion coordinator. The teacher responsible for coordinating SEN provision within the school, liaising between administration, support teachers, ASL specialists, and families. Often the most knowledgeable person in the school regarding procedures and timelines.

OEPAC (Operatori Educativi per l'Autonomia e la Comunicazione) — Assistants for autonomy and communication. Additional support staff requested for students with severe disabilities (typically Comma 3) who need assistance beyond what the support teacher provides — personal care, mobility, AAC device management.

Dirigente Scolastico — School principal. The person who signs off on formal requests, convenes the GLO, and is the recipient of any formal diffida (legal notice) if the school fails to comply with legal obligations.

Meetings and Processes

GLO (Gruppo di Lavoro Operativo) — Operational Working Group. The formal body that drafts and reviews the PEI. Includes all class teachers, the support teacher, ASL specialists, the school principal (or delegate), and parents. Parents are full members with voting rights, not observers. Students in secondary school are also included to support self-determination. Meets at minimum three times per year.

Verifica del PEI — PEI review meeting. The GLO meeting (typically mid-year) that reviews progress against PEI goals.

Verifica finale / Proposta risorse — The June GLO meeting that evaluates the year and proposes support hour allocation for the following academic year.

Colloquio — A general parent-teacher meeting. Not the same as a GLO meeting — less formal, not legally bound by the PEI process.

Relazione — A report. Teachers often produce relazioni at the end of term summarizing a student's progress. These are distinct from the GLO minutes (verbale di riunione).

Verbale di riunione — Meeting minutes. The formal written record of a GLO meeting. Always request a copy. These minutes document decisions about support hours, PEI goals, and any commitments made by the school.

Accommodation Terms

Strumenti Compensativi — Compensatory tools. Aids that compensate for a specific deficit without reducing the learning objective: calculators, text-to-speech software, extended time, graphic organizers, bilingual dictionaries.

Misure Dispensative — Dispensatory measures. Exemptions from specific tasks disproportionate to the learning objective: exemption from reading aloud, reduced homework, oral exams instead of written ones.

Tempo aggiuntivo — Extended time for tests. Typically 30% additional time for Law 170 students; specified in the PEI or PDP for Law 104 students.

Curriculum and Exams

Curricolo — Curriculum. May be standard (following national objectives) or modified as specified in the PEI.

Obiettivi Minimi — Minimum objectives. A modified set of learning objectives for students whose PEI specifies adapted academic goals at a simplified level.

Esame Equipollente — Equivalent exam at the Maturità — modified in format or time but deemed equivalent in value, resulting in a full standard diploma with university access.

Esame Differenziato — Differentiated exam — follows a significantly modified curriculum, resulting in a Certificato di Crediti Formativi rather than a standard diploma. Does not grant university access. Requires explicit parental consent to implement.

BES (Bisogni Educativi Speciali) — Special Educational Needs. The umbrella term covering all three categories: Law 104 disabilities, Law 170 learning disorders, and temporary disadvantages (linguistic, socioeconomic). A student described as "BES" may or may not have a formal medical diagnosis.

DSA (Disturbi Specifici di Apprendimento) — Specific Learning Disorders. The category under Law 170: dyslexia (dislessia), dysgraphia (disgrafia), dysorthographia (disortografia), dyscalculia (discalculia).

Knowing this terminology is the baseline. The Italy Special Education Blueprint goes further — explaining how these documents connect, what to say and ask during each GLO meeting, and how to use the legal framework to get your child the support they are entitled to.

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