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Staff Resources

This section of our website is designed for staff to find resources and training opportunities, including behavior forms, guidelines, IEP process, low incidence forms, policies and administrative regulations, procedural handbook, referral forms, and guidelines.

SELPA Professional Development

San Mateo County SELPA is committed to providing professional learning opportunities that meet the needs of our member Local Education Agencies (LEAs). See upcoming opportunities below.  If you have questions about any of these trainings, please contact the SELPA, selpa@smcoe.org.  

View all SELPA events on Eventbrite

Guidelines and Forms

Low Incidence Fund

Based on federal legislation (Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act), California Education Code - Part 30 and the California Code of Regulations - Title 5, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, the distribution and use of Low Incidence Funds (LIF) changed as of August, 2020. 

With these changes, now each LEA is responsible to document and track their own LIF needs, purchases, services, and storage of materials and equipment.  Therefore, SELPA is no longer accepting and processing LIF requests.  For more information, please refer to the Low Incidence Funds Guidelines 2020.  

If you have any questions, please contact our office at (650) 802-5306 or by email at selpa@smcoe.org.

Parents' Rights - Procedural Safeguards

Patterns of Strengths and Weaknesses (PSW)

Procedures for Determining Specific Learning Disability Eligibility Utilizing a Pattern of Strengths and Weaknesses Model, May 2024

The 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) prohibited states from mandating that School Districts /  Local Education Agencies (LEA) to use the ability-achievement discrepancy model to determine eligibility for students under the category of specific learning disability (SLD) and authorized the use of alternative methodology. The use of the Pattern of Strengths and Weaknesses (PSW) Model for SLD identification is indicated in the revised Title V Regulations of the California Education Code.

The purpose of this manual is to provide recommended procedural guidelines for San Mateo County SELPA member districts/ LEAs’ school psychologists/assessment teams in order to assist them in in determining eligibility of students for special education under the category of specific learning disability (SLD) using a cross-battery pattern of strengths and weaknesses (PSW) model suspected of having a SLD. It is the intent of this manual to provide assessment guidelines to ensure consistency, while still allowing for the use of informed professional judgment by trained assessment teams.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) strategies use neutral facilitators or neutral panel members who guide the team through specific strategies to yield creative, legally compliant, and collaborative solutions. Along the way, IEP Team members learn to communicate openly and heal damaged relationships while crafting stronger plans for students with special educational needs. Through ADR, IEP Teams ultimately retain control of the decision-making process, rather than abdicating to a hearing officer or judge who dictates one and only one solution without ever even meeting the student, or seeing the classroom options.

Process and documents are under construction.

Additional Resources