Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA)
Welcome to the San Mateo County Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) Web site. Our Web site is designed for your use to access important information about special education for students with disabilities. Use the links on your left to access the topic of your choice.
In 1977, all school districts and county offices were mandated to form consortiums in geographical regions of sufficient size and scope to provide special education services for children with disabilities residing within the region boundaries. These regions were called Special Education Local Plan Areas (SELPA).
There are approximately 122 SELPAs in the State, ranging in size from those serving fewer than 1,000 students to those serving more than 10,000 students. The San Mateo County SELPA, serving over 10,000 students, is one of the larger SELPAs in the State of California.
Each SELPA must have an Administrative Unit (AU) which is the legal entity that receives funds and is responsible for seeing that every eligible child receives appropriate services. The AU for the San Mateo County SELPA is the San Mateo County Office of Education.
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