Special education services and programs are available in Tulare County for children with disabilities from birth through 21 years of age. Services are available for children with disabilities in autism, blindness or vision impairment, deafness or hearing impairment, speech, physical or orthopedic disability, learning disabilities, behavior disorders, intellectual disabilities or other health impairments.

The goal of the Child Find Project is to be sure that every child in Tulare County attends school and receives appropriate services. Child Find accepts referrals and screens children who may have a disability. The child is then referred to an appropriate educational program for evaluation and/or services. Assessments are provided at no cost to parents.  Information is confidential and the privacy of children and parents is protected.

Tulare County Superintendent of Schools Jim Vidak says, “The Child Find Project is an excellent way of notifying parents of exemplary services and compassionate people who are here to help children with disabilities.”

Additional information regarding special education services and programs may be obtained by calling the Child Find Project, Tulare County Office of Education at (559) 730-2910, ext 5120.

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The Mock Trial teams are comprised of 10 to 20 students who take on the roles of lawyers, witnesses, court clerks and bailiffs. All teams must make their presentations based on identical hypothetical case materials. Each team, coached by local attorneys and school personnel, presents the case for both the prosecution and defense twice during the course of the competition.

“The Mock Trial Competition is as exciting to watch as any courtroom drama,” says Tulare County Superintendent of Schools Jim Vidak. “Our students do an incredible amount of preparation to understand the case law affecting their trial before taking on the roles of attorneys, witnesses and clerks. They do a masterful job of conducting themselves in court.

All teams will present their cases before actual judges and attorneys, with three attorneys scoring each trial. The semi-final round will take place in the Tulare County Superior Court building (third floor). Open to the public, the semi-final trial round is February 8 at 5pm. The finals will take place at the Tulare County Office of Education Redwood Conference Center, 6200 S. Mooney Blvd., Visalia on February 20 at 5pm. Members of the public, parents, students and teachers are welcome to attend any of the trials.

The teams competing in the 2018 Tulare County Mock Trial Competition represent Dinuba High School, El Diamante High School (Visalia), Exeter Union High School, Granite Hills High School (Porterville), Mission Oak High School (Tulare), Mt. Whitney High School (Visalia), Orosi High School, Redwood High School (Visalia), Tulare Union High School, Tulare Western High School, University Preparatory High School (Visalia) and Woodlake High School

For 2018, Mock Trial student participants throughout California will be preparing the fictitious case entitled People v. Davidson, which is the trial of Casey Davidson, a resident of Acorn, California. Davidson faces a felony count of first degree murder for the death of Alex Thompson, another young resident of Acorn and member of Ultra Nats, an extremist nationalist group. The prosecution alleges that Davidson murdered Thompson in the same park where a political rally had taken place. Attendees gathered in the park to either protest or support a national radio political commentator who is critical of liberal immigration policies. The defense argues that Davidson did not murder Thompson and has an alibi for what happened at the time of death.

According to the defense, Davidson was an activist in the nonviolent Equality for All (EFA) group and had a history of mediating behavior during conflict. The pretrial issue in People v. Davidson focuses on whether it is a search under the Fourth Amendment for the government to obtain routinely collected GPS location data from a third-party GPS provider. Law enforcement used such GPS information to gather evidence that Davidson had traveled to Thompson’s residence several times in the days before his death.

The Tulare County Office of Education would like to thank the many legal community volunteers who donate their time and expertise to make this competition possible. “Mock Trial is an extremely valuable competition,” says Vidak. “We applaud the teachers and attorney-coaches for investing many hours in preparing their students for this event – giving them a glimpse into the workings of our judicial system.”

The Mock Trial Program is sponsored by the Constitutional Rights Foundation, and co-sponsored by the California Department of Education, the State Bar of California, the Young Lawyers’ Association and the Daily Journal Corporation. The Tulare County Office of Education coordinates the program locally, with assistance from local attorneys and judges.

The champions from the final round of the Tulare County Mock Trial Competition will be eligible to compete in the annual state finals March 16-18 at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.

For more information, contact Scott Pierce at the Tulare County Office of Education at (559) 651-05

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“In the years that I have been Tulare County superintendent of schools, we have done amazing work,” he said. “We have been able to do so much because we have an incredibly talented staff. Many of our educators and administrators are recognized around the state for their leadership in instruction, special education, migrant education, early childhood education, human resources and credentialing, teacher recruitment and business services.”

Vidak is the longest-serving county superintendent in California currently in office. The veteran educator is also Tulare County’s longest-serving county superintendent, an office which was established in 1854. Tulare County’s second longest-serving county superintendent was J.E. Buckman, who served from 1910 to 1934.

Vidak began his elementary school education at Richgrove School in southern Tulare County. He moved to Cecil Avenue School in Delano, before transferring to Orosi Elementary. Vidak graduated from Orosi High School in 1958. He attended California State University, Fresno, where he obtained his bachelor of education degree, completed graduate-level coursework and earned his teaching and administrative credentials.

In 1962, Vidak’s first teaching assignment was in a fourth grade classroom at Mineral King School (now part of the Visalia Unified School District). In 1968, then 27-year-old Vidak was selected as the first principal of Visalia Unified’s new school, Crestwood Elementary. He continued to serve as Crestwood’s principal until he became director of the Tulare County Office of Education’s (TCOE) outdoor education program, SCICON, in 1977. He returned to Visalia Unified in 1981 as deputy superintendent, where he remained until he was elected Tulare County superintendent of schools. During his career, Vidak also taught continuing education courses for Fresno Pacific University, and elementary education classes for University of La Verne.

Vidak is the recipient of the Outstanding Alumnus Award from California State University, Fresno, the California State Superintendent of the Year from the Association of California School Administrators, the Executive Leadership Award and the Champions Award from the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association and the Kremen Noted Alumni Special Recognition Award from Fresno State. Throughout his career, he has been involved in numerous national, state and local education and community organizations. In the past, he has served on the National CHARACTER COUNTS! Advisory Council, the City of Visalia Planning Commission, United Way of Tulare County, YMCA of Visalia and American Little League of Visalia. He currently serves on the boards of the Fresno Historical Society and the Creative Center in Visalia – a program for adults with special needs.

Under his leadership as Tulare County superintendent of schools, Vidak has overseen the creation or expansion of numerous TCOE programs, including:

The new TCOE Administration Building & Conference Center (Completed in 2015. The Conference Center was utilized for student events and educator trainings attended by over 40,000 people in its first year.)

The new Planetarium & Science Center (Completed in 2015)

The TCOE Theatre Company

The Tulare County CHARACTER COUNTS! Program, which has recognized over 100,000 Kids of Character since 22 years. A monument to the Six Pillars of Character was erected in Mooney Grove Park in 1997.

Eagle Point Village at SCICON

An online resource for teachers using California’s new state standards, plus increased instructional and technological support to districts in Tulare and surrounding counties.

University Preparatory High School (an early-college charter school on the COS Visalia campus)

La Sierra Charter School (with a military-style academy for middle and high school students)

The California Friday Night Live Partnership, which serves 54 counties statewide with youth development and prevention programs.

CHOICES Prevention Programs and CHOICES After School Programs

College and Career Program, supporting career pathway programs in Tulare & Kings counties

Teacher Induction Programs for beginning teachers

Gang prevention education

Migrant Education service to students and families in Tulare and Kings counties

Early Childhood Education, including the expansion of center- and home-base programs throughout the county

Some of the widest offerings of student events in the state, with programs in the visual and performing arts, science, history, mathematics, career exploration, language arts, and outdoor education

Statewide teacher recruitment, including the formation of the California Teacher Recruitment Program and the California Center on Teaching Careers

Alternative credentialing programs for teachers and administrators

Behavioral health services

Bright Start Parent/Infant Program for children ages 0-3 with special needs

Bright Future Program for students with autism.

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