California’s System of Support
The California System of Support is a crucial component of the state’s accountability and continuous improvement system, whose guiding principles include equity and local control.
Encompassing entities at all levels, the System of Support is designed to intentionally connect local educational agencies (LEAs), county offices of education (COEs), school districts and charter schools to a network of Lead Agencies (often housed within designated county offices) that offer expertise, programs, and resources to equip local educators with the skills and knowledge to uncover their own solutions. The System of Support also includes many stakeholders, such as advocates, community-based organizations and statewide associations to support LEAs.
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The overarching goal of the System of Support is to address inequities and build capacity of LEAs to improve teaching and learning over time, address achievement gaps, and strengthen outreach and collaboration with their stakeholders.
Click here to navigate to the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence website for more information about the system and each of the component parts (CCEE, Geographic Lead Agencies, SELPA, Lead Agencies, Community Engagement Initiatives, Professional Learning Initiatives).
Click here to navigate to the Equity Network Project, a searchable database developed by the Equity, Disproportionality & Design SELPA Content Lead project to explore and connect to resources. You can search by affiliation, topic and focus area.Â
Special Education Resource (SELPA)
Lead Agencies
Within the System of Support, SELPA Lead agencies work as capacity builders, connectors and facilitators to ensure that an integrated educational system in California meets the needs of all learners, including students with disabilities.
Click here for a Quick Overview  of the SELPA Lead Agency Initiatives
SELPA System Improvement Lead
The SELPA System Improvement Leads (SIL) team empowers SELPAs and LEAs by providing universally accessible resources and tools, high quality professional learning, consultation, and improvement coaching. This statewide team of improvement facilitators provide direct technical assistance to teams seeking to improve outcomes for students with disabilities.
Website: https://systemimprovement.org/
This project is facilitated by the following lead agencies:
El Dorado county Office of Education SELPA
Contact: Heidi Hata
Riverside County Office Education SELPA
Contact: Leah Davis
West San Gabriel Valley SELPA
Contact: Jennifer Yales
Imperial County SELPA
Through the Improving Outcomes for English Learners with Disabilities project is focused on assisting CDE with dissemination, professional development and technical assistance associated with the CA Practitioners’ Guide for Educating English Learners with Disabilities.
Website: https://www.icoe.org/selpa/el-swd
Contact: Deborah Montoya
Marin County SELPA
Through the California Autism Professional Training and Information Network (CAPTAIN) project is focused on building SELPA capacity to support the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for students with Autism and Developmental Disabilities.
Website: http://www.captain.ca.gov/
Contact: Ann England
San Diego South County SELPA
Through the Equity, Disproportionality & Design: Preventing Disproportionality in Our Schools project is focused on building capacity in other SELPAs to lead a movement towards common language and effective solutions for improving equity and decreasing disproportionality.