Local and State Advocacy
State Legislators & Other Departments
Find/Contact Your California Legislative Representatives
Search by your address/zip: http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/
California State Assembly: http://assembly.ca.gov/
California State Senate: http://senate.ca.gov/
Please visit our CAC Leadership Collaborative Facebook page for important legislative and governmental updates
Other Offices to Visit:
- Assembly Education Committee
- Senate Education Committee
- Department of Finance, CA
- Governor's Office
You can follow the status of legislative bills here: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/home.xhtml
SELPA / School District / School Site
Meetings for the following committees and councils can generally be found on your SELPA or school district website.
Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for Special Education
Board of Education Meetings
Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) Parent Advisory Committee
District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC)
School Site Council
English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC)
Parent Groups (PTA, PTO, etc.)
CA Dept. of Education
California Department of Education (CDE)/Special Education
CDE Role/Responsibilities: http://www.cde.ca.gov/eo/mn/rr/
Advisory Commission on Special Education
http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/as/acse.asp
ACSE Meetings/Agendas/Materials
The Commission is an advisory body required by Federal (20 USC 1412(a)(21)) and State Statute (EC 33590-6). The ACSE provides recommendations and advice to the State Board of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Legislature, and the Governor in new or continuing areas of research, program development and evaluation in California special education.
The commission meets 4 times per year. Meetings are viewable live on the web. Unfortunately, ACSE meeting materials are sometimes not posted electronically for agenda items. You can request copies to be mailed to you. The ACSE can be contacted by phone at 916-445-4602, by fax at 916-327-3706, or by the Videophone Line at 916-374-7182.
State Board of Education (SBE)
The State Board of Education (SBE) is the K-12 policy-determining body for California. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction, who heads the CDE, also serves as SBE’s executive officer and secretary. The SBE has 11 members, all of whom are appointed by the Governor and serve four-year, staggered terms, with the exception of the student member, who serves a one-year term. SBE conducts regular meetings of interest to CACs, parents/guardians, students, professionals, and community. Members of the public are also permitted to provide public comment on issues.
SBE Meetings/Agendas/Materials
Mark your calendars; their meetings are all pre-planned. Agendas are are posted 10 days before the meeting. Most items are electronically posted attached to the agenda. Keep checking their website to see if they have added new materials. These meetings may be viewed live online.
Disability Advocacy
Cal-TASH
Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA)
https://www.copaa.org/default.aspx
Coalition for Students with Disabilities
Decoding Dslexia CA
https://decodingdyslexiaca.org/
Disability Rights California
http://www.disabilityrightsca.org/
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
http://nichcy.org/ (Website is no longer funded, will remain up only until Sept. 2014.)
National Center for Learning Disabilities
SEALS (Special Education Advocate Leaders)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/sea65/
SpeakUp Parents/Sped Up Los Angeles
https://speakupparents.org/sped-parent-task-force
Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities (LD)
http://www.smartkidswithld.org/
Free newsletter: http://www.smartkidswithld.org/email-signup
Wrightslaw:
Website: Parents, educators, advocates, and attorneys come toWrightslaw for accurate, reliable information about special education law, education law, and advocacy for children with disabilities.
Newsletter: Subscribe to the Special Ed Advocate.
Blog: The Wrightslaw Way to Special Education Law and Advocacy.