GET INFORMED
Child Find
The North Santa Cruz County SELPA is responsible for identifying, locating and evaluating students from birth to age 21 who may need special education services, including highly mobile (such as migrant or homeless) children with disabilities and children who are suspected of having a disability and in need of special education. If you suspect your child may have a disability that adversely effects their educational performance, and is in need of specialized instruction please contact your local school district or the SELPA Office at (831) 466-5700.
Resources for your IEP Journey Before, During and After the IEP
Parent’s Rights
California Department of Education
Procedural Safeguards
1-800-926-0648
For General Assistance or Information
regarding Special Education Programs
call 916-445-4613
Parental Rights and Procedural Safeguards for Special Education
NOTE: In order to meet the requirements of the Reauthorized IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education ACT) and the California Federal Corrective Action Plan, new statements of parents rights regarding Special Education have been drafted.
Parents, legal guardians, persons authorized to make educational decisions, and surrogate parents of children with disabilities from three years of age through age 21 have rights with respect to getting the appropriate services for their children in need of special education services.
These rights, also called Procedural Safeguards, are discussed in detail in the below Adobe PDF files.
To access information from the California Department of Education on Parents’ Rights and Procedural Safeguards, please go to https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/qa/
SELPA Procedural Handbook
Want to know what the Special Education Referral Process looks like? Look at Chapter 1
Wonder about the eligibility criteria for Special Education? Look at Chapter 6
Additional Resources
Parent Handbook for Special Education
IEP INFORMATION
Special Education Spanish Glossary
Transition Planning Information
NORTH SANTA CRUZ COUNTY SELPA TRANSITION HANDBOOK (SPRING, 2015)
This handbook is intended to be a useful guide of what to expect and how best to assist students with disabilities and their parents as they move into adulthood beyond their high school experience.
- North Santa Cruz County SELPA Transition Handbook (Spring, 2015)
- Life After High School
- Transition Planning Information - Books and web sites
- Transition Resources for Students and Parents in Santa Cruz County
- Supported Decision-Making Handbook for Parents ofAdults with Developmental Disabilities in CA
Special Education Websites
The California Autism Professional Training and Information Network (CAPTAIN) is a cross agency network developed to support the understanding and use of evidence based practices (EBPs) for individuals affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) across the state of California.
- California Department of Education
- California Department of Education – Special Education via Specialized Programs
- California Early Start
- California Services for Technical Training and Assistance
- Central Coast Center for Independent Living
- Clearinghouse for Specialized Media and Technology
- Council for Exceptional Children
- Department of Rehabilitation
- Dyslexia Guidelines
- Evidence-based Practice and Autism
- Family Empowerment Centers
- Family Involvement, Partnerships and Complaint Support Unit
- National Alliance on Mental Illness, Local Support Groups
- National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities
- Office of Special Education Programs
- PHP (Parents Helping Parents)
- Resources in Special Education (RISE)
- Special Parents Information Network
- Other Special Education Links
- Kidpower
- Safetypowers - self paced program for teens and adults with disabilities and those who support them
- Workpower - short role plays to help people with disabilities get and keep jobs
These parent-led nonprofit organizations offer specialized training, peer-to-peer support, information, and referral services. They aim to assist parents to better understand their child’s educational and developmental needs, effectively communicate with service providers, serve as a resource for the Individual Education Plan process, participate in school reform and improvement activities, promote alternative dispute resolution, and support positive relationships between parents and professionals.
Community resources
Department of Developmental services (DDS)/regional center
- Regional Center Map
- Regional Center Lookup Tool
- Regional Center Eligibility & Services
- Regional Center Services & Descriptions (available in multiple languages)
- Resources for Families, Parents & Caregivers
- Family Resources Centers Network of California
- Effective Early Childhood Transitions: A Guide for Transition at Age Three — Early Start to Preschool (ca.gov)
- Children and Youth Transitions : CA Department of Developmental Services
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (ADR)
North Santa Cruz County SELPA Alternative Dispute Resolution process in place. ADR is an informal process for resolving conflicts. It is a process that respects the dignity of individuals while using communication, collaboration, negotiation and mediation to the meet the interests of the parties involved.
North Santa Cruz County SELPA has the following ADR Options:
- Expanded IEP: Parties come back together to an IEP with additional information to discuss issues that remain unresolved. A SELPA representative may be invited to attend.
- Facilitated IEP: A trained, neutral third party, usually a SELPA staff member, works with disputing parties to structure the IEP and facilitates the meeting.
If you are interested in the ADR process contact your local school district and tell them that you would like to participate in the SELPA ADR process. If you would like more information on the process you may contact the SELPA office at (831) 466-5700.
