SELPA (Special Ed)

In 1977, all school districts and county offices were mandated to form consortiums in geographical regions of sufficient size and scope to provide for all the special education service needs for children with disabilities residing within the region boundaries. These regions were called Special Education Local Plan Areas (SELPA).

There are approximately 118 SELPAs in the State, ranging in size from those serving fewer than 1,000 students to those serving more than 10,000 students with the most common size between 2,000 and 4,000 students. (A few SELPAs have up to 50,000 students with disabilities, although only five SELPAs have over 10,000).

SELPAs vary in their structure. There are single district SELPAs and SELPAs with multiple districts, in addition to several other forms that may be developed. Each SELPA must have an Administrative Unit (AU). The AU is the legal entity that receives funds and is responsible for seeing that every eligible child receives appropriate services. The AU for the Calaveras County SELPA is located at the Calaveras County Office of Education.

The SELPA policy-making body is designated in the Local Plan and makes policy decisions, approves the guidelines for other decisions. In addition, there are usually advisory groups that work with the Director and the governing body. The chief administrator of the SELPA is usually called a Director.

It is the SELPA's responsibility to assure programs are available for all students with disabilities, from birth until age 22. The SELPA must see that programs provide any needed services for any student with an exceptional need, and to assist in inter-SELPA placements, provide technical assistance, and administrative support for the many requirements of the new laws and requirements being placed on districts.

The SELPA responsibility is met through a network of cooperative agreements among districts and agencies. The SELPA Office coordinates this network and provides a focal point for the student/family seeking information and services.

SELPA responsibilities include such things as:

Ensuring programs/services are available for all children with disabilities
Curriculum/Program Development
Support Surrogate Parent Training
Community Advisory Committee Support
Management Information Systems
Transition Planning
Personnel Development
Budget Planning and Review Evaluation
Interagency Coordination
Program Specialists
Community Awareness
Program Coordination
Evaluation