Access Special Education Advisory Committee Meeting Information

Special Education Division's Advisory Committee

The Office of Administrative Hearings, also referred to as "OAH", has established an Advisory Committee selected from persons who express an interest in serving on the Committee. (Ed. Code, § 56504.5, subd. (c)(8); Cal. Code Regs., tit. 5, § 3094; Interagency Agreement between the California Department of Education and the Office of Administrative Hearings.) The Advisory Committee is composed of parents, advocates, attorneys, and school employees among other interested persons.

Purpose:

The Advisory Committee was established to assist OAH by providing non-binding recommendations for improvements to the special education hearing and mediation processes.

The majority of the advisory committee must be any combination of parents, advocates for parents, and/or attorneys for parents.

Composition:

The Advisory Committee is composed of two regions, the Southern California region and the Northern California region. The Committee has six members from each region. At least four members in each region must be parents or those who represent parents and students. The remaining members in each region will be comprised of others eligible and interested in serving on the Advisory Committee.

Term of Service:

Each member selected to serve on the Advisory Committee shall be selected for a two-year term. At the end of each member's term, OAH will solicit new applications. A member interested in serving more than one term must reapply during the application period. Prior to the end of the member's term, OAH will send an email informing the member that their term is concluding and provide instructions on how to reapply during the application period. There is no limit to how many terms a member may serve, however no one may serve more than two consecutive terms.

Expectations for Service:

Membership on the Advisory Committee is voluntary. Each member is expected to fully participate and attend every meeting. If a member is unable to attend a meeting, the member should contact SE Operations by email at OAHSEOps@dgs.ca.gov or by phone at 916-263-0880.

Removal from Advisory Committee:

If a member fails to attend two consecutive meetings in one term, OAH may remove the member and select a replacement member to complete the term. When selecting a replacement member, OAH will solicit new applications. The replacement member will be selected to maintain the requirement that the Advisory Committee be composed of a majority of parents, advocates for parents, or attorneys for parents.

Meetings:

Advisory Committee meetings are held twice a year. The meeting is held on the same day in each region in the spring and fall. The spring meeting is held on the third Friday of June and the the fall meeting is held on the third Friday of October. Advisory Committee members are expected to attend every meeting and may be consulted between meetings.

All meetings are open to the public and a period of public comment will be included at each meeting. Meetings will be held via videoconference and at designated OAH in-person locations. Members can attend either by videoconference or at one of the in-person locations.

Selection Process:

Selection of the Advisory Committee members is at the discretion of OAH. Members will be selected based on their role in the special education process (e.g. attorneys, advocates, parents, and representatives of LEAs, including school districts, county offices of education or other public educational agencies that have jurisdiction under the IDEA) and stated interest for serving on the Advisory Committee.

Application Process:

Individuals who are interested in becoming a member of the Advisory Committee, must complete and return the application and a one-page statement of interest describing the individual's experience and interest in becoming a member of the Advisory Committee to OAH during an announced application period. Failure to submit a complete application or statement of interest may result in the application not being considered. OAH will announce the opening of an application period on OAH's Advisory Committee webpage, on the featured news items on OAH's homepage, and via ListServe announcement to all who have requested that their names be added to OAH's Special Education's ListServe.

THE NEXT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE ON FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2026 BEGINNING AT 9:30 A.M.

The next Advisory Committee meeting will be held on Friday, October 16, 2026, via videoconference and in-person at a Northern and Southern California location, beginning at 9:30 a.m. and is scheduled to continue until 1:00 p.m. Please use the following link to attend the videoconference (link will be provided at a later date), or you can copy the Live Broadcast URL below into your browser. You must use the current Chrome, Safari, Edge, or Firefox version.

Advisory Committee members can attend either by videoconference or at one of the in-person locations.

Videoconference Link

Link will be provided at a later date

Northern California

Sacramento Location

Office of Administrative Hearings
2349 Gateway Oaks Drive, Suite 262
Sacramento, CA. 95833

Southern California

San Diego Location

Office of Administrative Hearings
402 West Broadway, Suite 600
San Diego, CA 92101
Located in The Emerald Plaza Building

Public Comment

Public comment can be provided verbally, in person, via videoconference, or in writing during the Advisory Committee Meeting. Members of the public attending by videoconference, please review the information below on how to participate in a Zoom Webinar, including how to provide verbal comment. To provide public comment in writing, please send an email to SEACComments@dgs.ca.gov before and during the meeting. (This email will not be monitored until the day of the next meeting). Each person shall be limited to one three-minute comment during each public comment window.

Request a Reasonable Accommodation for Disability or an Interpreter Other than Spanish

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation for a disability, will require a language interpreter, or have a question, please email SE Operations at OAHSEOps@dgs.ca.gov. Requests for a reasonable accommodation or a language interpreter need to be made 10 business days before the Advisory Committee Meeting as additional time to arrange the requested accommodation or language interpreter may be required. In your request, please inform OAH if you will be attending by videoconference or, if in person, at which location.

Zoom Webinar Resources

The upcoming Advisory Committee meeting will be via Zoom Webinar. If you want more information on attending Zoom Webinars, please visit the Zoom Attending Webinars Support Page. You may also access this site by using the URL: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/sections/4415032875789-Attending-Webinars.

Additionally, Spanish interpretation will be provided for the meeting. If you wish to listen to the meeting in Spanish, please take a moment to review the information on the Zoom interpretation feature:

How to Listen to Language Interpretation

In your meeting/webinar controls, click "Interpretation" which will be next to a globe icon.
Click the language that you would like to hear.
(Optional) To hear the interpreted language only, click Mute Original Audio.

Notes

You must join the meeting audio through your computer audio/VoIP. You cannot listen to language interpretation if you use the dial-in or call me phone audio features.
As a participant joining a language channel, you can broadcast back into the main audio channel if you unmute your audio and speak.

How to join a Zoom Webinar by Phone Only

Dial in by using one of the in-country numbers below. For higher quality, dial a number based on your current location:
+1 669 254 5252 US (San Jose)
+1 669 216 1590 US (San Jose)
+1 415 449 4000 US (US Spanish Line)
+1 551 285 1373 US (New Jersey)
+1 646 828 7666 US (New York)
+1 646 964 1167 US (US Spanish Line)
You will be prompted to enter the Webinar ID: (TBD), followed by #.
If the meeting has not already started, press # to wait as a participant.
You will be prompted to enter your unique participant ID. Press # to skip.

Phone controls for participants

The following commands can be entered using your phone's dial pad while in a Zoom meeting:

*6 - Toggle mute/unmute
*9 - Raise/lower hand

Documents:

June 19, 2026 Meeting

October 17, 2025 Meeting

General Documents:

Advisory Committee Members for Current Fiscal Year
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act - For further information, please visit the California Department of Justice webpage.

Please go to the Archived Advisory Committee Documents page for documents related to prior Advisory Committee meetings and Membership Lists.