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  1. Student & Family Support
  2. Students with Special Needs
  3. Foothill SELPA
  4. Welcome

Welcome

The districts within the Foothill SELPA would like to work with you to resolve all complaints at the local level whenever possible.  For more information, check out our pamphlet.

Welcome to the Foothill SELPA.  Our SELPA consists of three school districts:  Burbank, Glendale and La Canada USD.

You may be wondering...What is a Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA)?

  • In 1977, all school districts and county school offices were required to join to form geographical regions of sufficient size and scope to provide for all the special education service needs of children residing within the region boundaries.

Today, there are approximately 130 SELPAs in the State, ranging in size from those serving fewer than 1,000 students to those serving more than 10,000 students with the most common size between 2,000 and 4,000 students. The SELPA governance structures vary in form.  The Foothill SELPA is a multi-district SELPA.

Each SELPA must have an Administrative Unit (the Responsible Local Agency)--the legal entity that receives funds and is responsible for seeing that every eligible child receives appropriate services. The Administrative Unit for the Foothill SELPA is Glendale USD.  Each region determines the funds available and the responsibilities of the SELPA office.

The Foothill SELPA Designated SELPA Administrator position is assigned to one of the three school district Special Education Directors on a two-year rotation.  The Foothill SELPA Manager is a permanent position, working in tandem with the Designated SELPA Administrator.

Responsibilities of the SELPA include such things as:

  • Ensuring program availability for all children with disabilities
  • Curriculum/Program Development support
  • Surrogate Parent training
  • Community Advisory Committee (CAC) support
  • Management Information System (MIS)
  • Transition planning
  • Legal assistance
  • Personnel Development
  • Budget planning and review
  • Evaluation
  • Interagency coordination
  • Program coordination
  • Fiscal management
  • Program Specialists
  • Community awareness

The SELPA policy-making body is designated in the Local Plan and makes policy decisions, approves the SELPA budget and contracts and establishes guidelines for other decisions, such as distribution of personnel units, staff development programs and staffing patterns. In the Foothill SELPA, the governance body is the Foothill SELPA Superintendents' Council.

The Foothill SELPA is governed by the Superintendent's Council.  This council is comprised of the Superintendents of the three SELPA school districts--Burbank USD, Glendale USD, and La Canada USD.  The council meets four times per year.  This meeting is open to the public.

Community Advisory Committee

The Community Advisory Committee is an integral component of the SELPA structure.  The Community Advisory Committee (CAC) serves as an advisory body to the Governance Council and the SELPA administration, regarding the development and review of the Local Plan as well as any policy additions or revisions.  Additional duties include assisting in parent education and in recruiting parents and other volunteers to support activities on behalf of individuals with exceptional needs.  District representative members also have the responsibility of forwarding pertinent information from the CAC to their local boards and to assist in parent awareness of the importance of school attendance.

All meetings are open to parents of children with and without disabilities, educators, agency representatives and other community members.  Voting members are appointed and approved by the school board of each district.   The majority of the voting membership must be comprised of parents of children with disabilities enrolled in public or private schools within the SELPA.  We welcome everyone concerned with the education of children with special needs to attend. 

The Foothill SELPA CAC meetings quarterly.  Each year a parent is elected as CAC Chair.  The CAC Chair for 23-24 is Jamie Kiffel-Alcheh, a parent from the Burbank Unified School District.  The position of CAC chair is voted on annually, along with the positions of vice-chair and secretary.   

  • For further information on the Community Advisory Committee and our events, please call the SELPA office at 818-246-5378 or email jschwartz@gusd.net

Foothill SELPA Local Plan

Pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 20 United States Code (20 USC) Section 1400 et seq. and related federal regulations, each special education Local Plan area (SELPA) is required to ensure a continuum of program options are available to meet the needs of students with disabilities for special education and related services.  The Foothill SELPA through each local education agency and the community advisory committee, has collaborated in preparing the 2021 revision to the Local Plan, which has been reviewed and accepted by the California Department of Education.  

The State Superintendent has established guidelines for the coordinated development and submission a local plan's components --Section A: Contacts and Certifications, Section B: Governance and Administration, Section D: Annual Budget Plan, Section E: Annual Services Plan, and required Attachments I -VI. 

  • The Foothill SELPA Local Plan ensures access to special education and services for all students with disabilities residing within the geographic area served by the Foothill SELPA. Beginning in July 1, 2020, all SELPAs were required to submit local plans to the California Department of Education (CDE) using CDE-created templates. The reasoning provided for this change involves increased uniformity of SELPA local plans across the State and greater transparency for members of the public about SELPAs in general and their structures and processes. 

The CDE-created templates require descriptions about how the Foothill SELPA achieves compliance with its assurances contains references to information that explains in greater detail how that is accomplished. 

Sections A and B are to be reviewed annually and updated on a 3-year cycle.  

Sections D and E are updated annually.