WSPA this Week, October 17-21, 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
- November 1, 8, 15, 22, & 29 - Fall 2022 Classified Administrator Brown Bag Series
- November 2, 2022 - S-275 Workshop (Virtual 10:00 am - 1:30 pm)
- S275 Flyer
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
List of Services
WSPA Membership
702+ members and counting...
Total Number of WSPA Members
646
Number of Entities Represented
271
Individual Memberships
358
District Memberships (10+ members)
20
Partner News to Know
American Association of School Personnel Administrators
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.
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.
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
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.