SELPA Content Leads Attachment A

Special Education Local Plan Area Resource Lead Agency System

The Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) Resource Leads are part of the California Statewide System of Support.

Legislative Authorization

The 2018 Budget Act (Chapter 29, Statutes of 2018) appropriated $10 million to implement the requirements of Assembly Bill 1808 (Chapter 32, Statutes of 2018) for the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) and the California Department of Education (CDE) to select at least three, but no more than ten, SELPAs or a consortia of SELPAs to serve as special education resource leads to work with lead agencies selected pursuant to Sections 52073 and 52073.1, and other county offices of education (COEs), to improve pupil outcomes as part of the California Statewide System of Support.

Purpose

To further develop California’s Statewide System of Support, the SELPA Resource Leads (SELPA Leads) will consist of two types of statewide special education leads: SELPA Systems Improvement Leads and SELPA Content Leads. The main goal of the SELPA Leads is to grow differentiated assistance provided to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) with a focus on improving the outcomes of students with disabilities (SWD).

SELPA Systems Improvement Leads will consist of at least three, but no more than four, SELPAs to be selected in tandem to form a partnership to join a statewide leadership team, which includes the CCEE, the CDE, the State Board of Education, and the COE leads. The SELPA Systems Improvement Leads will work collaboratively with the California Statewide System of Support and one another to build the capacity of SELPAs statewide. They will do this through training and supporting the use of data best practices, as well as evidence-based practices in root cause analyses, systems alignment, and coherence. These foundational processes will ground SELPAs and the LEAs served to ultimately improve educational outcomes for SWD.

SELPA Content Leads will consist of no more than seven SELPAs to further support SELPAs to help LEAs in developing and implementing evidence-based practices for SWD. SELPA Content Leads will have existing expertise establishing systems, data practices using cycles of improvement in at least one of the following areas, and will serve as a statewide lead for other SELPAs:

• Increasing access to inclusive environments (Least Restrictive Environments)
• Increasing access to quality curriculum and instruction
• Increasing and strengthening early childhood preschool opportunities
• Improving transition services
• Increasing graduation rates with a diploma
• Reducing suspensions and expulsions
• Improving and increasing family engagement
• Reducing disproportionality in all areas
• Improving supports for English learners with disabilities

Funding Description

Each SELPA Lead is selected for a term ending no later than June 30, 2023.

Request for Application

The Request for Application (RFA) provides an overview and instructions for the SELPA Leads grant application.

Application Workshop

The CDE will conduct two SELPA Leads webinars to provide an overview of the RFA and offer potential applicants an opportunity to ask clarifying questions. One webinar will be for the SELPA Systems Improvement Leads and one will be for the SELPA Content Leads.

The first of two webinars, the SELPA Systems Improvement Leads, was held on September 21, 2018, from 10–11:30 a.m. The webinar was intended to provide an overview of the RFA and offer potential applicants an opportunity to ask clarifying questions. Registration was available for this session by sending a message to the Special Education Division email at SELPALEAD@cde.ca.gov by September 14, 2018, by 5 p.m. Put SELPA Lead RFA Workshop in the subject line.

The second webinar, the SELPA Content Leads, will be held on November 30, 2018, from 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Please register for this session by November 26, 2018, at 5 p.m.