Special Education Local Planning Area (SELPA)

There are approximately 120 of these local units, each with the responsibility for administering the comprehensive special education plan in a particular geographic area. A SELPA is comprised of one or more districts and perhaps a county office of education, the aggregate of which has the ability to provide a comprehensive range of special education programs and services for students, in compliance with the IDEA. The initial duty of a SELPA, is to develop a local plan, in which it describes its plan to provide special education services within its area. SELPAs are a part of the Community Advisory Committees