About SELPA

In 1977, all school districts and county school offices were mandated to form consortiums in geographical regions of sufficient size and scope to provide for all special education service needs of children residing within the region boundaries. Each region, Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA), developed a local plan describing how it would provide special education services.

SELPAs are dedicated to the belief that all students can learn and that special needs students must be guaranteed equal opportunity to become contributing members of society. SELPAs facilitate high quality educational programs and services for special needs students and training for parents and educators. The SELPA collaborates with county agencies and school districts to develop and maintain healthy and enriching environments in which special needs students and families can live and succeed.

The Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office is the Administrative Unit for the Kern County Consortium SELPA. The policy-making body is the Superintendents’ Executive Council (SEC). There are two advisory groups for the SELPA: The Special Education Administrators Committee (SEAC), and the Community Advisory Committee (CAC). The Kern County Consortium SELPA is a multi-district/county office SELPA that serves over 12,000 children identified as having special needs. There are 49 members of the Kern County Consortium SELPA. There are also three other SELPAs located in Kern County that are single-district SELPAs:

Bakersfield City School District
Kern High School District
Panama Buena Vista School District
Sierra Sands Unified School District