October 26, 2020

In this issue...

• What happened at the September board meeting?
• What are the paraeducator training requirements for the 2020-21 school year?
• Listening session with paraeducators
• Legislative request
• Paraeducator survey

What happened at the September board meeting?

On September 23 and 24, the Paraeducator Board heard presentations and took action on several policies, including:

• Amending WAC 179-09-040, allowing online synchronous learning to meet the in-person requirement of the Fundamental Course of Study through September 1, 2021
• Hearing from Riverside and Longview school district representatives on how their districts are employing paraeducators during the 2020-21 school year
• Receiving a presentation from the Educator Growth and Development division of OSPI on how to enhance the collection of paraeducator data collected by the state
• Reviewing data on the 2019-20 school year iGrants 918 paraeducator training reimbursement 

For a complete review of the board meeting, including summaries for each agenda item, please visit the meeting material folder.

What are the paraeducator training requirements for the 2020-21 school year?

Districts are required to provide 14 hours of Fundamental Course of Study training to all their paraeducators during the 2020-21 school year. By the end of the school year, the majority of your returning paraeducators will complete the Fundamental Course of Study, and newly hired paraeducators will receive 14 hours of training.

• Learn more about district implementation
• View the school year 2020-21 implementation toolkit
• Learn about the emergency rule regarding in-person training

Listening session with paraeducators

On November 19, the Paraeducator Board will hold a listening session to hear directly from paraeducators. Paraeducator Board members hope to hear directly from paraeducators regarding training they have received over the last year and the role of paraeducators during the COVID-19 pandemic. The listening session will take place from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend.

Register to attend the listening session. Paraeducators interested in sharing verbal feedback to Board members during the listening session can complete this online sign-up form.

Legislative request

The Paraeducator Certificate Program requires districts to provide training to paraeducators as long as the training is funded by the Legislature. As a result of the 2019 legislative session, funding was secured for districts to provide two days of training on the Fundamental Course of Study during the 2019-20 school year, and an additional two days during the 2020-21 school year.

For the 2021 legislative session, we are requesting the Legislature continue to fund two days of training on the Fundamental Course of Study and to fund training on the General Paraeducator Certificate. We are also requesting funds to develop an online course to train paraeducators on how to provide support in student, family, and community engagement. 

• Read more about our legislative requests.

Paraeducator survey

The Paraeducator Board is excited to announce the publication of the 2020 Paraeducator Survey. 

One year into implementation, the Paraeducator Board is requesting feedback and information from paraeducators to better understand interest in, barriers to, and support needed, for continuous training and career development. To collect this data, we are asking paraeducators to complete a short, online survey. As we learn about training experiences, perspectives, and professional goals, we can better inform the program’s structure, identify gaps, and make improvements where necessary. 

With your assistance, we hope to understand better the opportunities paraeducators have for career development, the barriers to participation, and the support required to be successful.

Please note, this survey is optional and not a requirement for employment. Responses are confidential, anonymous, and will not be shared with anyone except the research team. To ensure anonymity, we will not use personal information in any reports.

If you are a paraeducator, please complete the survey and forward this email to your colleagues. If you are not a paraeducator, please forward this email to your network of paraeducators. 

Your feedback is critical to the advancement and improvement of the certificate program, and we thank you in advance for your participation and support.

Take the online survey.

Board members

• Yukari Amos
• Omar Escalera
• Lisa Markussen
• Cindy Rockholt
• Laura Rogers
• Lizzy Sebring
• Loren Sickles
• Cathy Smith (Chair)
• Jamie Wells

Upcoming board meetings

• January 14-15, 2021| ESD 113 in Tumwater
• May 19-20, 2021 | Hampton Inn in Richland
• July 14-15, 2021 | TBD
• September 22-23, 2021 | TBD in Spokane
• November 17, 2021 | Heathman Lodge in Vancouver