Find my starting point
School district · San Mateo County

San Mateo-Foster City: 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.

District typeElementary school district
Grades servedpreschool through 8
Students in special education · 2025-261,168
Primary category: autism294
Free assessment

Asking San Mateo-Foster City 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.

  1. Write to the district's special education office, or your child's principal, asking for an assessment.
  2. The district has 15 days to send you an assessment plan.
  3. 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 letter

District 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.

Free · ages 3 to 5

Special Education - Preschool Intake: San Mateo-Foster City 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
  • The district's Special Education contacts list includes an 'Administrative Assistant, Preschool Intake' (Jamie Edson, 650-312-7755, jedson@smfc.k12.ca.us) and a 'Program Specialist, Preschool' (Alyssa Baker, 650-312-7332, abaker@smfc.k12.ca.us).
  • Only individual staff emails are listed; there is no shared preschool intake inbox.
  • No step-by-step preschool referral instructions were found on the district site.
  • The district's Child Find notice says families should contact the District Office at (650) 312-7700.

Write your request letter with the California timelines included.

Checked Oct 16, 2026 · smfcsd.net, selpa.smcoe.org

Free · kindergarten to 12th grade

Special education assessment: San Mateo-Foster City 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
How to ask the district, step by step
  • No district-specific written instructions were found.
  • The district's Child Find notice says: 'If you believe your child may have any of these special needs, please contact the San Mateo-Foster City School District Office at (650) 312-7700.'
  • The San Mateo County SELPA's Child Find page advises: 'Contact your district to request that the child is assessed for a disability...
  • These requests are best made in writing with some specific reasons why you believe the child should be evaluated.'

Write your request letter with the California timelines included.

Checked Oct 16, 2026 · smfcsd.net, selpa.smcoe.org

This is an elementary district. Students move to a separate high school district for grades 9–12. Not sure which districts serve your address?

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.

Public schools · CDE

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.

Students whose primary category is autism2942025-26 school year · Census Day Oct 1, 2025California Department of Education
Students receiving special education1,1682025-26 school year · Census Day Oct 1, 2025California Department of Education
Share of special education under autism25.2%2025-26 school year · Census Day Oct 1, 2025

San Mateo County: 21.1% · California: 23.3%

California Department of Education

What 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.

AutismStudents with this primary category, by school year
01002003004002022-232023-242024-252025-26294
Show the numbers
PeriodSan Mateo-Foster City
2022-23211
2023-24252
2024-25264
2025-26294
Specific learning disabilityStudents with this primary category, by school year
01002003004002022-232023-242024-252025-26297
Show the numbers
PeriodSan Mateo-Foster City
2022-23284
2023-24297
2024-25300
2025-26297
Speech or language impairmentStudents with this primary category, by school year
01002003004002022-232023-242024-252025-26303
Show the numbers
PeriodSan Mateo-Foster City
2022-23238
2023-24299
2024-25290
2025-26303
Other health impairmentStudents with this primary category, by school year
0501001502002022-232023-242024-252025-26195
Show the numbers
PeriodSan Mateo-Foster City
2022-23183
2023-24188
2024-25193
2025-26195
Special education by primary category, 2025-26Students with an IEP, by the one category schools record as primary. Categories with no students are left out.
  • Speech or language impairment303
  • Specific learning disability297
  • Autism294
  • Other health impairment195
  • Intellectual disability35
  • Multiple disabilities13
  • Emotional disturbance12
  • Orthopedic impairmentSuppressed
  • Deaf / hearing impairmentSuppressed
  • Hard of hearingSuppressed
  • Visual impairmentSuppressed
  • Traumatic brain injurySuppressed
  • Established medical disabilitySuppressed
  • Deaf-blindnessNot reported
Special education by age, 2025-26All disability categories combined. CDE does not publish autism by age.
  • Ages 3–5179
  • Ages 6–12829
  • Ages 13–18160
  • Ages 19+ (typically 19–22)Not reported
Special education by grade span, 2025-26All disability categories combined.
  • Preschool–grade 3 (incl. TK)523
  • Grades 4–6387
  • Grades 7–8258
  • Grades 9–12Not reported

English learners with an IEP: 509. Families can ask for assessment and meetings in their home language, with an interpreter at no cost.

Public schools · CDE

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.

Indicator 11 · target 100%

Initial evaluations completed within the 60-day timeline

78.0%

2024-25 annual performance report · target not met

2023-24: 57.8%

Indicator 12 · target 100%

Children moving from Early Start with an IEP in place by age 3

38.5%

2023-24 annual performance report · target not met

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.

Public schools · CDE

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.

All students with an IEP, 2025-26Program setting as reported to CDE
  • In a regular class 80% or more of the day777
  • In a regular class 40–79% of the day139
  • In a regular class less than 40% of the day160
  • Separate school or other setting20
  • Preschool setting72
Students in the autism category, 2025-26Program setting as reported to CDE
  • In a regular class 80% or more of the day111
  • In a regular class 40–79% of the day62
  • In a regular class less than 40% of the day76
  • Separate school or other setting8
  • Preschool setting37

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.

Reading the numbers

Classification counts are not autism rates or school ratings.

What they count

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.

Why districts differ

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.

Small numbers

CDE withholds small cells to protect students. Those show as suppressed, never as zero.

See San Mateo County data
San Mateo County

Other districts in San Mateo County

Sources

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
  1. 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
  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