California Department of Education, Special Education Division, Family Involvement & Partnerships

• Resources and support for parents, guardians, and families of children with disabilities

Finding Your Representatives:

• Your Legislature and California State Legislature – Use either of these websites to find the California legislators that represent your community.

• U.S. House of Representatives Search – Use this webpage to find your representative in Congress. This tool requires that you have your 9-digit (Zip+4) zipcode. You can use the U.S. Postal Services Zip+4 Lookup to find your 9-digit zipcode.

• U.S. States Senate Search - Use this webpage to find the Senators that represent your state.

• California State Legislature – An entry portal to variety of information and resources related to the California legislature. You can find your local legislators, view district maps, access the Senate and Assembly rosters and more.

Research and Bill Tracking

• California Legislative Research – A great page of links to a variety of legislative research resources

• How Bills Become Laws in California – A simple outline of the lifecycle of a bill in the California legislature.

• Legislative Analyst’s Office – Homepage for California’s nonpartisan fiscal and policy advisor. Visit here for excellent, unbiased analysis of the California state budget, policy proposals and other related information.

• Senate Daily JournalandAssembly Daily Journal – Each house in the California legislature publishes a daily journal of bill activity.

Existing Laws and Regulations

• Disability.gov – provides quick and easy access to comprehensive information about disability programs, services, laws and benefits.

• Education Laws, Regulations, & Policies – Federal and California state legislation, laws, regulations, policies, legal advisories, and guidance. This is a California Department of Education webpage.

• Judicial Council of California: Special Education Questions & Answers – A FAQ on special education published as part of the Judicial Council of California’s Self-Help Center. Available in English and Spanish.

• A Guide for California Parents: Special Education Due Process and the Resolution Meeting – A 40-page PDF publication from the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund.

Other Resources

• Senate Legislative Calendar and Assembly Legislative Calendar – These are the calendars for each house.

• CalChannel – Live webcast of California legislative activities. There is also an archive of past webcasts.

• California Legislature Audio and TV Broadcasts – This page links to audio of Senate and Assembly meetings and links to sites with webcasts or schedules for television broadcasting of legislative meetings.