WSPA this Week, October 17-21, 2022

Darrell Heisler • Oct 17, 2022

SUPPORT, ADVOCACY, AND PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR THE K-12 HUMAN RESOURCE PROFESSIONAL

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MESSAGE



Our Address has Changed:  WSPA  -  PO BOX 14459  -  Tumwater, WA  98511 (Please make sure to get this information to your business department and if they need a W-9, let me know)


The Law Conference was a huge success.  We had 185 attendees and 17 awesome sessions.  Next up will be the Classified Administrator Brown Bag Series in November.

No Member Requests this week

UPCOMING EVENTS:


NEW THIS WEEK FROM PESB:

Office Hours for Future of Para Assessments

In June, ETS notified the country that they would no longer be providing their internet based testing (iBT) option of the ETS ParaPro assessment — beginning on December 23, 2022.

PESB took immediate action and submitted a request to the Governor and legislature to expand the current assessment options.

This sudden change on behalf of ETS, combined with the way current legislation is written, leaves only two options to take this assessment, both of which come with challenges. 

First, is an online testing option with specific — and frequently limiting — technological hurdles related to proctoring. The remaining option is to travel to one of four Prometric sites for in-person testing (Fife, Mountlake Terrace, Spokane, and Yakima) which causes significant geographic, economic, and logistical burdens on would-be test takers.

The Paraeducator Board’s legislative request aims to open up options for assessments in order to allow more flexibility in developing new pathways to the paraeducator profession. PESB has submitted a request bill to the Governor's office and has been in constant contact with the chairs of the education committees.


Questions?

We understand that you may have questions, concerns, or just want to talk. Therefore, we have set up an office hour on Thursday, Oct. 20th at 4 p.m., in order to have that conversation with you.

Come by the virtual office hour to discuss: 

  • what the agency is working on
  • share and listen to ideas on navigating the change in testing after Dec. 23


Office Hours

Virtual Meeting Link  Meeting ID: 859 715 6347    Passcode: 021963

Hosts:

Liisa Preslan, Program Manager, Paraeducator Workforce and Development

Zack Turner, Legislative and Policy Liaison 

 

Funny for the week: "And just like that, POOF, weekend gone!"


Darrell Heisler

WSPA Executive Director

WSPA News to Know

WSPA Membership

                                                                               702+ members and counting...

Total Number of WSPA Members

702

Number of Entities Represented

186

Individual Memberships

379

District Memberships (10+ members)

23

REGION ESD'S NUMBER OF MEMBERS WELCOME to WSPA
1 Inland Empire ESD 101 51
2 Ipanco ESD 105, 123 &171 113
3 Lower Columbia River ESD 112 57
4 Puget Sound ESD 113 & 121 322
5 Olympic ESD 114 60
6 Northern Puget Sound ESD 189 94

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Member Requests

Sample Contracts & Salaries

A district is looking for sample contracts & salaries for the following positions:

  • Superintendent
  • Assistant Superintendent
  • Executive Director
  • Chief Operating Officer
  • Business Manager with CPA
  • Human Resources Director

Procurement Specialist


A colleague is wondering if anyone employs a procurement specialist, and if so, would you please share the job description, salary, and whether or not it is a represented position.

IEP Days

Substitute Resources

A district is wondering how other districts handle IEP days.  Does the teacher get a substitute for IEP preparation, meetings, etc., or do they get paid for an additional day for these activities?

A district is wondering if any other districts have a resource for Substitute Guidelines. 

  • Do they get paid for a certain number of hours?
  • Can they cover a class if they are willing rather than getting paid?
  • How long can you use a long-term substitute?

Partner News to Know

Unemployment Insurance: Sign up now for upcoming SOC code webinars

Learn more about Standard Occupational Classification codes on May 20 or June 3

Do you have questions about Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes? Sign up for one of our upcoming webinars!

All employers will be required to report SOC codes when they submit their quarterly tax reports starting with their fourth quarter 2022 report. At that time, you could get a penalty for incorrect SOC reporting. Reporting SOC codes is currently optional and is available only to single filers.

Upcoming webinars

If you have questions or want to learn more about using SOC codes, register for one of our free webinars.

  • Friday, May 20, at 11 to 11:45 a.m. - Register
  • Friday, June 3, at 11 to 11:45 a.m. - Register

During these webinars, we’ll talk about:

  • What are SOC codes?
  • When are SOC codes mandatory?
  • How to look up SOC codes.
  • How to add SOC codes with keyed or imported wage data.

Note: We will provide the same information in both webinars. However, questions could vary in each webinar, so you are welcome to sign up for both.

What is SOC?

SOC is a federal coding system that helps government agencies and private businesses compare occupational data.

In 2019, the Washington State Legislature passed a law requiring employers to report SOC codes in their quarterly reports for unemployment insurance.

Other resources on SOC

  • Watch this short video.
  • Try out the SOC code search tool. Under “Occupation Keyword Search” you can search by keyword, SOC code or industry.

2022 Legislative Report

Dan Steele, WASA Assistant Executive Director, Government Relations and WSPA Legislative Liaison has completed a 2022 End of Session Report and you can find it here.

 

The End of Session Reports includes full details of the 2022 Supplemental Operating Budget and the 2022 Supplemental Capital Budget, along with a comprehensive review of the many education-related bills the Legislature addressed this session.

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