Sunday Professional Development Seminars

The VET NET Ally program is dedicated to raising awareness and understanding of the unique challenges faced by military service members and veterans in higher education.

When autistic students or those with intellectual and other developmental disabilities face crisis situations on campus, a fragmented response can lead to systemic harm, miscommunication, and trauma. True educational equity demands a unified, proactive approach to safety and crisis intervention. Get Safe presenters will share an interactive, two-hour pre-conference session that bridges the gap between critical campus entities, including Disability Support Program teams, Behavioral Intervention Teams (BIT), and law enforcement. Led by the experts from Get Safe, an agency that has taught over 500,000 individuals through one on one sessions and group training opportunities. This session will provide an actionable overview of specialized, trauma-informed de-escalation strategies and student safety training models tailored specifically for the neurodivergent community. Moving away from passive lecturing, the core of this workshop will be driven by the lived experiences and real-world challenges of its attendees. Participants are encouraged to bring specific, complex scenarios and systemic friction points from their own campuses - ranging from front-desk communication breakdowns to high-stakes crisis responses. Through collaborative problem-solving, real-time case study analysis, and expert guidance, attendees will learn how to equip department staff, mobilize intervention teams, and a valuable resource to equip campus security with empathy driven, clearly communicated responses. By centering cross-departmental collaboration, attendees will leave with a concrete framework to transform how their institutions navigate crisis, empower neurodivergent student self-advocacy, foster a culture of holistic campus safety as well as implementing life skills to their students that they will carry into the community and workplace.

Accessibility is often treated as a technical task, files converted, formats delivered, boxes checked. This session reframes alternative media and accessibility work as relationship centered practices that shape student trust, engagement, and belonging. While technical skill is essential, the soft skills required in alternative media and assistive technology roles, including clear communication, empathy, and adaptability, play a critical role in how students experience access and support. Using plain language and student-centered examples, this session explores proactive accessibility practices that reduce barriers, strengthen professional soft skills, and position DSPS work as a front facing equity practice rather than a back-end service.

Join us for a half day of training and networking with your fellow Learning Disability Specialists! The first two hours will include an in-person training update on the new WAIS V and WJ. The training will go over significant changes and how we can better interpret these tools as we work with students. After a break, we will dive into a panel led discussion on how we as a field can better promote the importance of the work we do. We are seeing growing trends across the state that involve either not filling vacant LD positions or eliminating them while our colleagues are still serving. We will discuss strategies for self-promotion and raising awareness on our campuses and across the state!

Join systemwide directors and coordinators from the CSU, UC and California Community Colleges in a collaborative session designed to demystify system and build a shared understanding of disability resources across the state. Explore how to support students as they transition between systems and compare how accommodations are delivered across institutions. Through panel discussions, interactive activities and shared insights, participants will identify best practices for collaboration and strengthen leadership connections that support student success.

Annual meeting for Workability and College to Career professionals.

Included with attendee registration, join Jamie, Ralph, and Paul in their annual discussion of this year's legal cases.