Special Education Hebrew Glossary: Terms and Acronyms for English-Speaking Parents

You walk into a committee hearing and the professionals across the table start using terms like Va'adat Ifyun V'Zakaut, Sal Ishi, Kita Mikademet, Morat Shiluv, and MATYA. Each one refers to a specific legal entity, funding mechanism, or placement option that will determine your child's educational future. Not knowing these terms in real time is not just uncomfortable — it's a practical disadvantage.

This is not a Hebrew language lesson. These are the operational terms of the Israeli special education bureaucracy. Learn them before you walk into any meeting.

The Evaluation Stage

Ivchun (אבחון) Formal evaluation or assessment. The psycho-didactic or psycho-educational report that triggers the committee process. Without an Ivchun, there is no eligibility hearing, no funding, and no services. This is the entry point for everything.

Ivchun Psycho-Didakti (אבחון פסיכו-דידקטי) Psycho-didactic evaluation — the specific assessment used to identify learning disabilities. It measures cognitive processing, academic achievement, phonological awareness, and working memory. The most common type of evaluation submitted to eligibility committees.

Ivchun Prati (אבחון פרטי) Private evaluation. Conducted by a privately hired psychologist or LD specialist rather than through the public school system. Ministry of Education is legally obligated to accept private evaluations.

ShaPaM / Sherut Psychologi Chinuchi (שפ"מ / שירות פסיכולוגי חינוכי) School Psychological Services. The municipal department that coordinates public evaluations and staffs school psychologists. Chronically under-resourced and often backed up by 6–12 months.

The Committee Stage

Va'adat Ifyun V'Zakaut (ועדת אפיון וזכאות) The Eligibility and Characterization Committee. The municipal body that grants special education eligibility, assigns a functioning level, and determines the size of the Personal Services Basket. This is the central event in the entire process — every parent's key hearing.

Va'adat Shibbutz (ועדת שיבוץ) Placement Committee. Convenes after eligibility is established to find a specific physical seat in a school that matches the parent's chosen placement type. Critical for families moving between municipalities.

Va'adat Hasaga (ועדת השגה) Special Education Appeals Tribunal. The higher-level administrative body parents appeal to if they disagree with the Eligibility Committee's decision. Parents have 21 days from receipt of the written decision to file an appeal.

Prottokol (פרוטוקול) The formal written record of the committee's decision. This document specifies the disability category, functioning level, and exact weekly service hours. Keep every copy. It is the legal basis for all subsequent service delivery and any appeals.

Funding and Services

Sal Ishi (סל אישי) The Personal Services Basket. The specific allocation of state-funded support hours attached to an individual child. Under Amendment 11, this basket travels with the child regardless of placement type. The size of the basket is determined by functioning level.

Siyaat (סייעת) Paraprofessional aide, shadow, or integration assistant. A siyaat accompanies the child in the classroom to provide behavioral support, social mediation, or physical assistance. The number of siyaat hours is a key component of the Personal Services Basket.

Sal Shiluv Mosadi (סל שילוב מוסדי) Institutional Inclusion Basket. A pooled basket of support hours allocated to the school rather than to an individual child. Typically used for students with learning disabilities (the most common category), who do not qualify for a Personal Basket.

MATYA / Mati (מתי"א / מתי) Merkaz Timuch Yishuvit/Ezorit — Local/Regional Support Center. The operational arm of the Ministry of Education for inclusive education. MATYA employs the inclusion teachers, therapists, and applied behavioral analysts who are deployed into mainstream schools to serve children with Personal Baskets. If your child is in mainstream inclusion, the MATYA director in your city controls service delivery.

Placement Settings

Shiluv (שילוב) Mainstream inclusion. Your child in a regular classroom with neurotypical peers. Services are delivered via MATYA staff.

Kita Mikademet (כיתה מקדמת) A self-contained special education class physically located within a regular mainstream school. Capped at 7–14 students. Children receive specialized academic instruction in the small class but integrate with the wider school for recess and non-academic activities.

Beit Sefer LeChinuch Miyuchad (בית ספר לחינוך מיוחד) A fully dedicated special education school — segregated, specialized, and designed for complex disabilities.

Gan Safa (גן שפה) Specialized language preschool for children with severe language delays.

Gan Tikshoret (גן תקשורת) Specialized preschool for children on the autism spectrum, providing intensive behavioral and developmental therapies.

The IEP Equivalent

TLA — Tochnit Limudim Ishit (תל"א / תוכנית לימודים אישית) The Israeli equivalent of an IEP — an Individualized Learning Plan. Developed at the start of the school year by the child's team and reviewed annually. Unlike a US IEP, the TLA is generally treated as a pedagogical roadmap rather than a legally enforceable contract.

Key Organizations and Roles

Menahel HaChinuch HaMiyuchad (מנהל החינוך המיוחד) The municipal special education director. The most important administrative contact in your city's education system. If the school principal is unhelpful, the municipal director has the authority to intervene.

Morat Shiluv (מורת שילוב) Inclusion teacher. A specialist teacher deployed by MATYA to support included students in regular classrooms.

Bagrut (בגרות) National high school matriculation exams. Students with documented learning disabilities can apply for testing accommodations — extended time, scribe, oral examination. New Olim also receive separate Oleh leniencies for up to 10 years post-Aliyah.

Nefesh B'Nefesh (NBN) The primary North American and UK immigration assistance organization. Offers English-language pre-Aliyah counseling for families with children who have existing diagnoses.

This glossary gives you the minimum vocabulary to follow what's being said in a committee room. For the full strategic context — what each term means for your child's services, how to use the funding mechanics in your favor, and what to say at each stage — the Israel Special Education Blueprint goes deeper.

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