California Special Education Contacts

You can find links to your local school district’s special education department by using the California Department of Education’s website.

In California, all school districts, including charter school districts, belong to a Special Education Local Plan Area also known as a SELPA. SELPAs are organized regionally and their members include local school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education. A few large school districts are single district SELPAs, and there are two SELPAs that only represent charter schools.

One way to find your school district’s special education contacts is to use the California Department of Education’s SELPA webpage to find the SELPA that represents your school district and click on the link of that SELPA. Each SELPA website lists its school district members and will have links to the special education contacts in your school district.

Each SELPA is required to have a Community Advisory Committee (CAC). A CAC is a group of parents, teachers, administrators, other school employees, and other interested community members who advise the SELPA on its special education services. The CAC has required activities, including developing a Local Plan specific to the SELPA’s service area, assisting with parent education activities, and encouraging parent involvement in education.

Your SELPA should have information about its CAC and include information about how to get involved, a calendar of meetings and events, meeting minutes, and its most recent Local Plan for Special Education. A helpful resource on CACs is the California SELPA CAC Guide.