NEW : Highlight on Juvenile Justice and Children behind bars

At any moment in California, 13,000 young people are detained in juvenile halls and another 4,500 are in the California Youth Authority. More than 75% of these young people wind up back behind bars within a year of their release.

Behind these cold statistics are thousands of individual stories of young people who do not go back behind bars, but who find a way to turn their lives around.

These video diaries tell the stories of those who succeed and the struggles that they face when they try to gain traction on the outs, after years of being in and out of the system.

Part of the solution for these young people is The Beat Within program, which conducts weekly writing and conversation workshops in the juvenile halls and then publishes these writings every week.

The young people featured in these video diaries speak in their own words and tell the stories of the realities they faced as troubled children and the realities they now face as young adults on the mend.

Issues of the weekly magazine are available on the Archive.

ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS; OAH:

• NOTIFICATION OF EMAIL LISTSERVE; OAH has created a listserve that allows interested parties to receive emailed copies of decisions as they are issued.  If you wish to be included on that listserve, please send your name and email address to laura.gutierrez@dgs.ca.gov
• Here's a useful online tool to determine the date your special education timeline will end. Take a look by clicking here
• Do you subscribe to CalStat's the Special Edge? It's free! Click here to read it online !

 Considering a rewarding career? Consider TEACHING !!  

• Are you wondering what jobs may be posted and available in your school district? Click here to find out! Then click on your district to view current postings. This site is also a great place to find job descriptions. We are lucky to have several universities in our area with credential programs for general education and special education teachers.

General Useful Information:

• The What Works Clearinghouse was established in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences to provide educators, policymakers, researchers, and the public with a central and trusted source of scientific evidence of what works in education.
• Each month this group will focus on a section of the: From Emotions to Advocacy Book
• Learn About Advocacy Skills
• Connect with other parents in your district OR consider becoming a 'Mentor Parent' and sharing information or support. Please call if you have an interest
• Learn about the importance of good evaluations
• Learn about tests and measurements
• Understand an overview of the laws that offer you and your child access to education
• Understand your procedural safeguards
• Understand that if your child is eligible under IDEA, they also have rights under Section 504
• Learn about the No Child Left Behind Statute
• The U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs
• Highly qualified teachers under No Child Left Behind
• The Yellow Pages for kids with disabilities has listings of various services providers by State
• Click here to learn about what IDEA 2004 says about Evaluation and Re-Evaluation.

Santa Clara County Information:

• The Santa Clara County Office of Education
• Santa Clara County Public Schools Directory
• What SELPA is your district in? SELPA means Special Education Local Plan Area 
• Where can you get a copy of the Santa Clara County IEP Forms?

 San Mateo County Resources:

• Do you live in San Mateo County? Have you visited the wonderful web site your county office of education has in place? Click here to find out about what's happening in the San Mateo SELPA

California DATA and Information Resources:

• Useful Data Related to Education
• Welcome to DataQuest - find facts about California's public schools fast! This amazing tool allows you to obtain useful data about schools, districts, counties

California Resources:

• I heard there is a wonderful book that tells me my rights in question and answer format? It's called Special Education Rights and Responsibilities and you can get it online from Protection and Advocacy Inc.
• Did you know that both State and Federal Laws Prohibit Schools from retaliating against parents and against individuals assisting parents? Learn more by reading this publication.
• Have you wondered how to file a discrimination complaint with the Office for Civil Rights? Click here to find out more.