Like much of California, Bakersfield splits public education across grade levels rather than running one K-12 district: Bakersfield City School District covers birth through 8th grade, and Kern High School District — a single-district SELPA on its own — covers grades 9 through 12 across the city's 19 comprehensive high schools. This page walks through both districts' evaluation processes, the regional center serving the county, and where funding for therapy actually comes from, with a source for every fact.

Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the California page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Bakersfield (Kern County).

Early intervention under 3: California Early Start

Bakersfield-area children from birth to 36 months may qualify for Early Start under one of three tests: a developmental delay of at least 25 percent in one area, an established risk condition of known cause, or a documented combination of biomedical risk factors. Any adult — a parent, relative, physician, or child care provider — is permitted to make the referral, and there's no cost for evaluation, assessment, or service coordination. Kern Regional Center coordinates most local Early Start services, with some cases routed instead to a local education agency depending on the type of delay. From the date of referral, state policy gives the program 45 days to assign a service coordinator, complete the evaluation, and write the family service plan, and eligibility is reassessed under the stricter Lanterman Act standard once a child turns 3.

• California Early Start
• Referral phone: 800-515-BABY (800-515-2229) — statewide Early Start Babyline

New to early intervention? Read the plain-language guide first.

School districts and special education

Every district in California answers to a Child Find duty under Education Code 56043: find, identify, and evaluate students with a suspected disability at no cost, from birth through age 21. Your written referral opens a 15-calendar-day window for the district's proposed assessment plan, followed by at least 15 days for your consent decision and 60 calendar days from your signature for the district to finish the assessment and, if eligible, hold the IEP meeting. State regulations carve out autism as its own eligibility category — a significant effect on communication and social interaction that is generally apparent before age three.

• Bakersfield City School District — runs a 'Search & Serve' Child Find program for birth through 8th grade, with English and Spanish referral forms; (661) 631-5850
• Kern High School District — operates as its own single-district SELPA across 19 comprehensive high schools; Special Education office (661) 827-4529

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Bakersfield

We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in Bakersfield. That is a gap in our research, not a sign there is nothing here — and it does not stand between you and an evaluation. The school district evaluation above is free, and early intervention under 3 does not need a private diagnosis first.

How assessment works · What to do while you wait

Disability services and waivers: Kern Regional Center

Kern Regional Center is Bakersfield's entry point into California's Lanterman Act system, one of 21 regional centers statewide coordinating developmental-disability and Medicaid waiver services. A child 3 or older qualifies with one of five diagnoses — intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, or a closely related condition — plus a 'substantial disability,' meaning significant limits in at least three of seven major life activities. Under state law, initial intake must occur within 15 working days of a request, and the center then has 120 days to determine eligibility, dropping to 60 days where a delay would risk a child's health, safety, or development.

• Kern Regional Center
• Phone: 661-327-8531

Local organizations that help Bakersfield families

• Kern Autism Network — volunteer-run parent support organization serving Kern County for 30 years; monthly parent support groups and a fathers' virtual support group

Documented waits and access notes

Wait times change. Each note below links to the public source it came from — confirm current status directly with the program.

• California's DDS estimates 457 Kern County 8-year-olds were autistic and Lanterman-eligible in 2025, a 3.12 percent share of the county's roughly 14,649 children that age — one of the higher county prevalence estimates among California's largest cities. (source)
• Kern Regional Center's FY 2024-2025 caseload included 7,149 autistic clients out of 13,259 total, a 54 percent share, matching the statewide pattern in which autism became the majority Lanterman Act diagnosis for the first time in 2024. (source)
• California's SB 946 mandate never set an age limit or an annual spending cap for ABA, so a commercially insured Bakersfield family argues hours on medical necessity rather than against a statutory ceiling. (source)