Palo Alto Unified: special education data and contacts
How to ask this district for a free special-education assessment, and what it reports to the California Department of Education each October.
Asking Palo Alto Unified for an assessment
Public school districts must assess children 3 and older who may need special education, at no cost, including children who aren't in public school yet. For a child in private school, the district where the school is located may handle the assessment; call to confirm.
- Write to the district's special education office, or your child's principal, asking for an assessment.
- The district has 15 days to send you an assessment plan.
- After you sign the plan, it has 60 days to assess your child and meet with you.
Days between school sessions and school vacations longer than five school days don't count. Keep a copy of everything you send.
Write your request letterDistrict office
We haven't imported this district's office contact yet. CDE's California School Directory lists it.
We checked this district's own assessment pages. Contacts below come from the district's website.
Special Education Preschool (Greendell School): Palo Alto Unified School District
A free special education assessment, whether or not your child attends a district preschool.
- Ages3 to 5
- CostFree
- How to startAsk in writing
- TimelinePlan within 15 days, results within 60 days of signing
How to ask the district, step by step
- For children ages 3 to 5.
- Greendell's page says: 'Questions can be directed to: Keri Bates (kbates@pausd.org), School Psychologist (650) 856-0833 x3854.'
- Children may be identified through 'parent contacts, pediatrician/family physician referrals, early childhood screenings, and teacher referrals.'
- Greendell School is at 4120 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303.
- The district's Special Education page says services begin at age 3.
Write your request letter with the California timelines included.
Checked Oct 16, 2026 · greendell.pausd.org, pausd.org
Special education assessment: Palo Alto Unified School District
A free special education assessment for students in the district.
- AgesKindergarten to 12th grade
- CostFree
- How to startAsk in writing
- TimelinePlan within 15 days, results within 60 days of signing
- Phone(650) 833-4260
- OnlineDistrict assessment page
How to ask the district, step by step
- PAUSD's instruction: 'A referral for special education assessment may come from a parent/guardian, or site team at any time.
- A referral may be in writing or verbal.'
- The site team must respond within 15 days with either an Assessment Plan or a Prior Written Notice declining the request.
- PAUSD encourages a Student Study Team (SST) meeting first, but that meeting is not required before a referral.
Write your request letter with the California timelines included.
Checked Oct 16, 2026 · greendell.pausd.org, pausd.org
We send your address to the U.S. Census Bureau's geocoder to find its location, then match it to CDE district boundaries. We don't store or log it.
What the district reports
On Census Day each October, California public schools report how many students have an active IEP, grouped by each student's primary disability category. Each student is counted once.
Santa Clara County: 24.4% · California: 23.3%
California Department of EducationWhat this measures: Counts students whose primary special-education eligibility category is reported by public schools on Census Day. It is not a count of all autistic children, not a clinical diagnosis count, and not a prevalence rate.
Show the numbers
| Period | Palo Alto Unified |
|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 217 |
| 2023-24 | 230 |
| 2024-25 | 249 |
| 2025-26 | 255 |
Show the numbers
| Period | Palo Alto Unified |
|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 325 |
| 2023-24 | 314 |
| 2024-25 | 310 |
| 2025-26 | 294 |
Show the numbers
| Period | Palo Alto Unified |
|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 171 |
| 2023-24 | 178 |
| 2024-25 | 175 |
| 2025-26 | 176 |
Show the numbers
| Period | Palo Alto Unified |
|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 226 |
| 2023-24 | 247 |
| 2024-25 | 230 |
| 2025-26 | 242 |
English learners with an IEP: 212. Families can ask for assessment and meetings in their home language, with an interpreter at no cost.
Does the district meet its legal timelines?
Each year CDE checks every district against federal compliance indicators. Two of them concern evaluations: deciding eligibility within 60 days of a signed assessment plan, and having an IEP in place by age 3 for children leaving Early Start.
Reported compliance is not the same as appointment wait time. These rates come from the district's own records of when steps were completed. They don't measure how long families wait to be heard, or the quality of the assessment.
Initial evaluations completed within the 60-day timeline
99.5%2024-25 annual performance report · target not met
2023-24: 93.9%
Children moving from Early Start with an IEP in place by age 3
Not calculated (too few children)2023-24 annual performance report
CDE's 2024–25 report reprinted the 2023–24 Indicator 12 rates, so we show them once.
What this measures: A compliance rate CDE calculates from records the district submits, for a 100% target set by federal law. CDE publishes the rate only, not how many children were counted, so a small district can swing widely from one year to the next. "Not calculated" means CDE judged the number of children too small. Reported compliance is not the same as appointment wait time.
Where students in special education learn
Each student's IEP placement on Census Day: how much of the day they spend in a regular class, or whether they are taught in a separate school or a preschool setting.
What this measures: Program setting reflects each student's IEP placement on Census Day. Districts with more preschool or more students with significant needs will show different mixes, so a setting mix is not a measure of school quality.
Classification counts are not autism rates or school ratings.
Students whose IEP lists a category as primary. A student served under speech or another category, or without an IEP, is not in the autism count.
Size, grades served, preschool programs, and county-run programs all change the mix. A higher count is not a sign of better or worse schools.
CDE withholds small cells to protect students. Those show as suppressed, never as zero.
Other districts in Santa Clara County
- Alum Rock Union Elementary
- Berryessa Union Elementary
- Cambrian
- Campbell Union
- Campbell Union High
- Cupertino Union
- East Side Union High
- Evergreen Elementary
- Franklin-McKinley Elementary
- Fremont Union High
- Gilroy Unified
- Lakeside Joint
- Loma Prieta Joint Union Elementary
- Los Altos Elementary
- Los Gatos Union Elementary
- Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High
- Luther Burbank
- Milpitas Unified
- Moreland
- Morgan Hill Unified
- Mount Pleasant Elementary
- Mountain View Whisman
- Mountain View-Los Altos Union High
- Oak Grove Elementary
- Orchard Elementary
- San Jose Unified
- Santa Clara County Office of Education
- Santa Clara Unified
- Saratoga Union Elementary
- SBE - KIPP Navigate College Prep
- SBE - Perseverance Preparatory
- Sunnyvale
- Union Elementary
Where these numbers come from
Figures are copied from public files without adjustment. Suppressed cells stay blank. Each source's own definitions apply.
Read the methodology- Public schools · CDESpecial Education Enrollment by Program SettingCalifornia Department of Education, DataQuest Special Education Enrollment by Program Setting downloadable files
- Editions used
- 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26
- Retrieved
- Oct 16, 2026
- License
- Public data; CDE conditions of use
- Pipeline run
cde-sped-20261016175952-b240, cde-sped-20261016175955-607a +2
- Public schools · CDESpecial Education Annual Performance Report Measures (LEA reports)California Department of Education, Special Education Division, Local Level Annual Performance Report
- Editions used
- 2023-24, 2024-25
- Retrieved
- Oct 17, 2026
- License
- Public data; CDE conditions of use
- Pipeline run
cde-apr-20261017225142-d83e, cde-apr-20261017225156-f77d