Michigan's Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandated state advisory panel to the State Board of Education and the Michigan Department of Education.
The mission of the SEAC is to promote positive outcomes for all Michigan students with disabilities by:
SEAC members are appointed by the State Board of Education. There are up to 33 members of the SEAC who represent a diverse group of stakeholders (parents, administrators, service providers, advocates, and consumers) concerned with the education of all children, including students with disabilities.
SEAC is currently seeking one Non-School-Based Family and/or Advocacy Organization to fill an open seat. To qualify the organization must not be involved in the politics or the running of schools but instead must be an organization outside of schools providing services to students with disabilities who fall under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
The nominees (delegate and alternate) for the organization must be persons with a disability themselves or have a child with a current IEP lasting the entirety of the three-year term they are nominated for. These are considered "defined" members.
We are accepting nominees to fill this vacancy. To be considered, the organization applying must have:
Interested applicants should write a letter of interest detailing how you will meet the indicators above. Questions and letters should be addressed to Teri Pettit, SEAC Facilitator, at PettitT4@michigan.gov.
For additional information regarding SEAC, refer to the Special Education Advisory Committee Fact Sheet and the Special Education Advisory Committee Fact Sheet in the Membership section of this page.
SEAC has two member-at-large seats open for a term of July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2029. Both openings require the applicant to meet the qualifications of a “defined” member, meaning they are a person with a disability, or they have a child with an active individualized education program (IEP) remaining in effect until the end of their term. Interested applicants should complete and return an application to be considered.
The SEAC meets via Zoom on the first Wednesday of each month from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. unless indicated otherwise on the calendar. The public is welcome to view meetings and must complete the SEAC visitor registration form.
| Date | Meeting | Meeting Agenda | Meeting Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/5/2025 | Regular Business Meeting | November Agenda | November Minutes |
| 12/3/2025 | Regular Business Meeting | December Agenda | |
| 1/7/2026 | Regular Business Meeting | January Agenda | |
| 2/4/2026 | Regular Business Meeting | ||
| 3/4/2026 | Regular Business Meeting | ||
| 4/8/2026 | Regular Business Meeting |
As part of its duties, the SEAC annually submits a report on its activities to the State Education Agency.
In 2019 the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) determined the procedure governing State Advisory Panels, specifically the requirement meetings be open to the public, is no longer required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
While SEAC will continue to open its meetings to the public, we will no longer provide a time of public comment as we are merely an advisory committee "not legally capable of rendering a final decision," (Attorney General (AG) Opinion #6935).
We advise those interested in providing public comment to attend a State Board of Education meeting where public comment is welcomed. For additional information please refer to the document Public Participation in State Board of Education Meetings.
Advise the State Educational Agency of unmet needs within the state in the education of children with disabilities. We serve strictly as an advisory committee, we are not an advocacy committee, any advocating must be done separately from the SEAC name. We look for guidance from the Office of Special Education (OSE), the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), and the State Board of Education (SBE) in determining the unmet needs of the students with disabilities in Michigan.
Comment publicly on any rules or regulations proposed by the state regarding the education of children with disabilities. When requested, we convene an ad hoc group to write any public comment. When written and passed by a majority vote of our Executive Committee, the public comment is then submitted.
Advise the State Educational Agency in developing evaluations and reporting on data to the secretary (20 USC 1418).
Advise the State Educational Agency in developing corrective action plans to address findings identified in federal monitoring reports under this part. This only pertains to if and when the state is issued a corrective action plan, in that event OSE would come to SEAC for input.
Advise the State Educational Agency in developing and implementing policies relating to the coordination of services for children with disabilities. The Director of OSE and other MDE speakers regularly join SEAC meetings to discuss the various components of the State Performance Plan and the Annual Performance Report in an effort to keep us apprised of what is occurring and may ask for our input. Our yearly priorities guide who is asked to present at SEAC meetings.
The “hearings related to special education” are defined as those conducted by hearing officers—referred to as administrative law judges (ALJ) in Michigan—and result in a written findings of fact and hearing decision that is transmitted to SEAC. (34 CFR 300.512(a)(5) and 34 CFR 300.513(d))
Thus, Function 6 of SEAC is limited to review of the findings of fact and written decision of an ALJ after a due process hearing. Such findings and hearing decisions are reviewed by SEAC for the purpose of providing insights to the Office of Special Education, informed by members’ various experiences. OSE is then able to use these insights to work with other partners and stakeholder groups to develop policy and guidance for the department and the field. The 2023–2024 Annual Report, shared with the Board in November 2024 and available on the SEAC website, included a reference to the three cases SEAC reviewed in that year.
