What is FCSS?
Students can be served by a School District, a Charter School, or at a County Office of Education. For our purposes, the County Office of Education and the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools (FCSS) are the same. And FCSS has two separate roles when it comes to SELPAs and special education:
(1) FCSS serves as the Responsible Local Agency for the Fresno County SELPA. It is designated in the local plan as the Administrative Unit, with duties that include receiving and distributing regionalized services funds, providing administrative support, and coordinating the implementation of the plan. View the SELPA website here.
(2) FCSS is a service provider for special education and related services. The governing body of the Fresno County SELPA developed a system in which FCSS provides services on behalf of its member school districts for certain students with disabilities. These students are referred to FCSS Special Education through a referral process. The SELPA's funding allocation plan allocates funds to FCSS for these services. Therefore, students with disabilities may be served directly by their member school district, or they may be served by FCSS on behalf of the member.
A list of services and programs for both SELPA and Special Education can be viewed here.
What's the difference between SELPA, Special Education, and FCSS?
A SELPA is the organization with member school districts and charter schools. The SELPA organization ensures that students with disabilities receive special education and related services in the least restrictive environment. The typical size of a SELPA is large so that its members can pull resources to fulfill this requirement. Like a school district, the SELPA has a governing body, policies and procedures, and an administrative staff.
Special Education is the actual service. These services can be provided by the school district or charter school themselves. However, districts and charters may wish to pull resources and funding, and have the services provided on a regional scale. Throughout the State, many districts and charters in SELPAs have decided to do this, such as having services for students with severe disabilities provided at a single location.
In fact, the governing body of the Fresno County SELPA developed a system in which some services are provided on a regional scale. These students are referred to FCSS Special Education through a referral process. The SELPA's funding allocation plan allocates funds for these services. Therefore, students with disabilities may be served directly by their member school district, or they may be served at a regional location.
FCSS, the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools, is the agency that houses the Fresno County SELPA, and is called the Responsible Local Agency and/or the Administrative Unit. It is also the entity that provides many of the special education services for the SELPA Member School Districts.
