Pacific Coast Research Conference

The 34th Annual Pacific Coast Research Conference (PCRC) will be held Wednesday through Friday, Feb. 4-6, 2026, at the Marriott Long Beach Downtown in Long Beach, California. 

Call for Abstracts & Conference News: 
REGISTRATION FOR 2026 PCRC IS NOW OPEN THROUGH DECEMBER 12! Click on the appropriate link below to register for you and/or a guest:

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER AS A 2026 PCRC ATTENDEE

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER A 2026 PCRC GUEST ($400)

There is only one registration rate for all PCRC general attendees, with an $650 Early Bird discount available from Oct. 22 through Nov. 6. Following that date, registration increases to $700 from Nov. 7 through Dec. 12. Guest registration is $400 from Oct. 22 to Dec. 12. Consult the 2026 PCRC Key Dates timeline below for more specific details on registration. 

When you click "Submit" from the REDCap registration form and land on the Stanford CardinalPay page to pay your registration fee, scroll down the page and click on the "CONTINUE AS GUEST" button to pay for your registration. DO NOT CREATE AN ACCOUNT TO PAY FOR YOUR PCRC REGISTRATION. You will not be able to pay for your PCRC registration any way other than by continuing as a guest. 

PRESENTERS: If you have travel conflicts that prevent you from presenting on certain days during 2026 PCRC (Feb. 4-6, 2026), please notify PCRC conference manager Elizabeth Turner at pacificcoastresearchconference@gmail.com as soon as possible.

News on this year's PCRC and future conferences, including registration links for PCRC as soon as it is open, will be shared with subscribers to PCRC's mailing list correspondence. Not subscribed yet? Please email pacificcoastresearchconference@gmail.com to join, including your name and email address in the body of the email.

2026 PCRC Key Dates:

Please make a note of these submittal and registration deadlines, and be sure you are subscribed to the PCRC mailing list:

• Wednesday, June 25: The Call for Abstracts for 2026 PCRC opens. The links to poster and panel portals will be posted on the PCRC website and will also be sent to the PCRC mailing list.
• Friday, Sept. 5: 2026 PCRC Call for Abstracts closes Incomplete submissions will not be considered.
• Monday, Sept. 29: Poster/panel submission notifications are mailed out.
• Wednesday, Oct. 22: 2026 PCRC registration will open at the $650 Early Bird rate for all general attendees. Guest registration, which covers all PCRC-hosted meals, is $400.
• Thursday, Nov. 6: Last day to register at the $650 Early Bird rate. All incomplete attendee registration payments by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time will be increased on Nov. 7.
• Friday, Nov. 7: PCRC attendee registration increases to $700. Guest registration, which covers all PCRC-hosted meals, remains at $400.
• Friday, Dec. 12: Last day to register ($700 general attendees AND $400 guests) for 2026 PCRC. Registration window closes at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.
  • All incomplete/unpaid registrations must be completed and paid before this deadline.
  • Presenters who have not registered AND paid will have their presentations removed from the PCRC schedule.
  • There will be no onsite registration at 2026 PCRC.
• Wednesday, Dec. 31: Last day to cancel your PCRC registration and request a refund (minus a small administrative fee). See the Registration Cancellation section below for full details.
• Wednesday through Friday, Feb. 4-6, 2026: The 2026 PCRC magic happens!

Frequently Asked Questions:

Conference Duration: 
PCRC typically begins early evening Wednesday (5:00 p.m. PT) with check-in, opening session panel discussion, and opening night dinner. The conference concludes late evening Friday, with a closing session panel, brief business meeting, and closing night dinner. Guests typically check in Wednesday afternoon and check out Saturday morning. (See "Hotel" section below for more info.)

Poster sessions: 
Typically, there are both morning and evening poster session opportunities, each of which is 50 minutes in length. However, PCRC poster session schedules may be subject to change each year. Posters will be presented on 3' H x 4' W tri-fold poster boards on top of tables. PCRC will provide trifold boards and binder clips to hang posters. (If any of these do not work for your poster, you are responsible for providing your own supplies.) Presenters can serve as lead presenter on ONE poster to allow opportunities for other presenters to showcase their research. One abstract submittal per presenter. The PCRC Program Book lists up to two presenters per poster, but complete abstracts are posted online with full lists of additional authors/presenters. 

Panel sessions: 
Panel sessions are two hours in length. The organizer(s) of each panel session unites multiple researchers from several institutions to contribute brief perspectives on a single theme OR gathers researchers from a single institution to present facets of a single piece of work, building in time at the end for Q&A. Panelists may not serve on more than one panel -- this includes the role of discussant. Graduate students may not serve on panels. When crafting your abstract, please limit the the names of panelists to those who will actually be presenting during your session should your panel be selected.

Hotel: 
The Marriott Long Beach Downtown will offer a block of rooms at a discounted room rate from Feb. 2-8, 2026, for PCRC attendees available for reservation only through a dedicated link. Rooms reserved using that link are applied toward our obligations to the hotel and help us keep conference costs down. The reservation link is available to access from the PCRC website and will also be sent to the PCRC listserv when registration opens in mid-October. Single and double room rates go for $289 per night. The room block closes January 10, 2026, or when the room block and/or hotel reaches capacity, whichever comes first. 

The Marriott Long Beach Downtown will be hosting other groups and guests at the same time as PCRC, so room availability varies once the room block is full. The closer to PCRC I need to add to the room block (meaning, the later attendees wait to book their lodgings), the less likely rooms will be available. Once the room block deadline passes, we cannot extend the PCRC discounted rate. So reserve your room as soon as possible!

About the Conference:

This is an annual research meeting typically held on the West Coast in mid-winter. It is for researchers concerned about teaching, learning, and schooling for students with mild to moderate disabilities. PCRC is a unique research meeting, characterized by intensity and informality. PCRC is distinguished by the high quality of research presented, an informality that promotes effective and vigorous participation and interaction, and an opportunity to discuss controversial topics or works in progress.

Mailing List:

To join the mailing list so that you will automatically receive updates on the Pacific Coast Research Conference, please email pacificcoastresearchconference@gmail.com and include your name and email address in the body of your message.

If you wish to share a non-conference-related announcement with the PCRC mailing list, please email pacificcoastresearchconference@gmail.com with your request along with any related deadlines to consider, URLs, and attachments. Non-conference-related information (e.g. faculty job postings, academic journal CfPs) is collected and sent around once a month to limit email frequency. If you wish to be removed from the non-conference-related mailing list, please let Elizabeth Turner know by emailing the PCRC email address above.