The Program starts with the Fundamental Course of Study. It is 28 hours of professional development training based on the standards of practice and is required of school districts to provide to their paraeducators when funded by the Legislature. This is a statewide requirement. All paraeducators are required to complete the Fundamental Course of Study. This training provides paraeducators with a foundation of knowledge and tools to best serve students.

Important information:

• 12 courses are required to be completed
• FCS courses are listed on LearnPSD
• 12 courses make up the required 28 hours 
• Paraeducators have 2 years to complete
  • 14 hours per year
• Two years refers to the first two years as a paraeducator
  • If you were hired LAST year (2020-2021 school year) you MUST complete all 28 hours by the end of this school year)
  • If you were hired this year (2021-2022 school year), you must complete 14 hours by the end of this school year

FCS: Course outline and learning objectives

Pasco School District must provide Fundamental Course of Study (FCS) training to all K-12 paraeducators. It is the paraeducators' responsibility to keep track of courses completed. This can be done by:

1. Checking employee online:

• Log onto psd1.org website
• Click on Employee tab
• Scroll down to the Employee online tab
• Log in
• Click on the Menu tab (top left next to Home)
• Click on Personal information
• Click on Courses under the Education/Skills
• You will see all the FCS courses that have been completed.

2. Checking LearnPSD transcript 

• Sign in to LearnPSD
• Go to Dashboard
• Click on Print Transcript- a new window will open with a record of training completed (and closed out by the trainer)
• Only shows courses beginning October 1, 2021 and that you signed up on LearnPSD to take.

3. Print off a copy of the FCS Clock Hour Form and check off courses completed

Once you complete the 28 hours, follow the steps below:

• Complete the FCS Clock Hour Form and send it to Employee Services and email it to professionaldevelopment@psd1.org
• Employee Services will sign it and return a signed copy to you for your files.
• You will then need to create an E-Cert account in the Education Data System (EDS) through OSPI to upload the clock hour form. If you need help setting up your EDS account, OSPI has created this User Guide. For additional help, contact Tonya Bartlett in OSPI's certification office.

Sign up for and EDS account:  https://eds.ospi.k12.wa.us/

Once you have your account set up, you are ready to log in the FCS course.                                                

• Under the My Application List, click on E-Certification.
• Click on My Credentials at the top of the page.
• Next, click on PD Hours.
• In the middle of this page, click on Click Here to Add Professional Development Hours.
• Fill in the information and save all the documents for your records in case the state audits you and asks for your documentation.

• Directions to record hours in EDS

After completing the FCS:

Paraeducators must earn an additional 70 hours of training to earn their General Paraeducator Certificate. This is to be started after completing the FCS training.

 

 

The next component is the General Paraeducator Certificate, which is 70 hours of professional development training. Any topic that assists the instruction of a paraeducator can be counted towards this certificate - giving districts and paraeducators the ability to personalize the training. The Legislature has funded this training, thus making it a requirement for districts to provide for their paraeducators who have completed the FCS.

Important information:

• 70 hours of coursework 
• Paraeducators are required to complete the 70 hours in five years.
• Take a minimum of 14 hours of training each year.
• The certificate costs $74 and is a lifetime certificate.
• Keep track of courses in EDS.

The GPC courses use the same professional development measurements as certified staff. Continuing education credit hours, known as clock hours, are for Washington educators who want to earn and keep track of professional development. 

Pasco School District offers opportunities to attend professional development regularly. All courses on LearnPSD are approved for clock hours. It is your responsibility to ensure the course you attend aligns with at least one of the five General Paraeducator Certificate’s Standards of Practice identified below.

College courses taken or completed after July 1, 2019 can be counted towards the GPC. The FCS must be completed before earning the GPC.

All training sessions must meet at least one of the five General Paraeducator Certificate’s Standards of Practice and must come from approved clock hour providers as defined in WAC.

The five standards are:

1. Supporting instructional opportunities
2. Demonstrating professionalism and ethical practices
3. Supporting a positive and safe learning environment
4. Communicating effectively and participating in the team process
5. Demonstrating cultural competency

Each standard has its own knowledge and skill competencies that paraeducators must receive training on to meet the program requirements. 

Click here to view the standards of practice.

In order to report your hours to OSPI, you must enter your 70 training hours using your EDS account (created when you reported your FCS hours). You can report each class after you complete it or you can wait until you have completed all 70 hours.

Directions to record hours in EDS

See the link below for directions to upload your hours: Uploading Directions to EDS

Extra duty pay and clock hours

Extra duty pay:

Paraeducators earn extra duty pay for courses offered in LearnPSD by the District as long as it is outside of a paraeducator's contracted hours. If pay is available for a course, it will be reported in LearnPSD along with clock hours. Please do not submit an EDP form unless you are told to do so.

A few reminders about clock hours:

1. There are two requirements to be eligible for clock hours that must be completed:
• Participants must be registered for the course prior to the start of the course on LearnPSD
• Participants must complete check in and out of the training in LearnPSD
2. State policy does not allow districts to issue retroactive clock hours
• Participants that do not register and/or check in/out will not be eligible for clock hours
• If pay is provided for a course, you must register and check in/out to be paid.

Once the session is closed out by the organizer, you will receive an email from LearnPSD informing you the course has been closed and  the month you will see the compensation (if applicable) on your check. 

Upload the clock hour information to your EDS account on OSPI’s website (the same account you created when you submitted your FCS paperwork to OPSI).

As a reminder, save all clock hour related paperwork in a safe place. It is your responsibility to retain a copy of your course completion information for auditing purposes.

Paraeducators may choose to complete training on the ELL and Special Education subject matter certificates. These are designated subjects because they are where paraeducators are most often needed and require specialized training to best serve students. These credits may count towards the GPC if the 20 hours are completed for either. 

This is a subject matter certificate and is available for those who wish to further their skills when working with English Language Learners. This certificate is optional and is NOT required. To earn this subject matter certificate, you must complete the 20 hours of professional development in the subject area certificate.

This certificate does require a fee of $54 to obtain the certificate from OSPI and expires after 5 years. To renew a subject matter certificate, paraeducators must complete 20 clock hours during the validity period of the certificate. The application for renewal must be submitted to OSPI during the last year of a currently valid certificate.

The 20 hours for this certificate can count toward the 70 required hours for the General Paraeducator Certificate. The course and clock hours are provided by OSPI.

Click here to enroll

Scroll down until you see ELL Subject Matter Certificate.

This is a subject matter certificate and is available for those who wish to further their skills in special education instruction. This certificate is optional and is NOT required. To earn this subject matter certificate, you must complete the 20 hours of professional development in the subject area certificate. This training is provided by OSPI.

This certificate does require a fee of $54 to obtain the certificate from OSPI and expires after 5 years. To renew a subject matter certificate, paraeducators must complete 20 clock hours during the validity period of the certificate. The application for renewal must be submitted to OSPI during the last year of a currently valid certificate.

The 20 hours for this certificate can count toward the 70 required hours for the General Paraeducator Certificate.  The course and clock hours are provided by OSPI.

Click here to enroll

Scroll down until you see: Special Education Paraeducator Certificate.

This course is currently under development by PESB. As soon as any information is released, we will update this section.

OSPI Paraeducator Certificate

Pasco School District must provide Fundamental Course of Study (FCS) and General Paraeducator Certificate (GPC) training to all K-12 instructional paraeducators. It is the paraeducators' responsibility to keep track of courses completed. Paraeducators must also keep a file of the courses completed for both the FCS and GPC for potential auditing. This can be done by:

1. Checking employee online:

• Log onto psd1.org website
• Click on Employee tab
• Scroll down to the Employee online tab
• Log in
• Click on the Menu tab (top left next to Home)
• Click on Personal information
• Click on Courses under the Education/Skills
• You will see all the FCS courses that have been completed.

Clock hours and/or certificates issued from other districts, ESD and/or OSPI will not show up on Employee Online unless a paraeducator submits them to Employee Services.

2. Checking LearnPSD transcript: (only PSD offered courses will show on the transcripts)

• Sign in to LearnPSD
• Go to Dashboard
• Click on Print Transcript- a new window will open with a record of training completed (and closed out by the trainer)
• Only shows courses beginning October 1, 2021 and that you signed up on LearnPSD to take.
  
  • Please note that FCS courses completed prior to October 1, 2021 should be recorded on Employee Online

Only PSD courses listed on LearnPSD will show up on the transcript. LearnPSD records are uploaded to Employee Online.

3. Print off a copy of the FCS Clock Hour Form and check off courses completed

Once you complete the 28 hours, follow the steps below:

• Complete the FCS Clock Hour Form and send it to Employee Services or email it to professionaldevelopment@psd1.org
• Employee Services will sign it and return a signed copy to you for your files
• You will then need to create an E-Cert account in the Education Data System (EDS) through OSPI to upload the clock hour form. If you need help setting up your EDS account, OSPI has created this User Guide. For additional help, contact Tonya Bartlett in OSPI's certification office.

Sign up for an EDS account:  https://eds.ospi.k12.wa.us/

Instructions for entering courses in EDS

Once you have your account set up, you are ready to log in the FCS course.                                                

• Under the My Application List, click on E-Certification.
• Click on My Credentials at the top of the page.
• Next, click on PD Hours.
• In the middle of this page, click on Click Here to Add Professional Development Hours.
• Fill in the information and save all the documents for your records in case the state audits you and asks for your documentation.

After completing the FCS:

Paraeducators must earn an additional 70 hours of training to earn their General Paraeducator Certificate. This is to be started after completing the FCS training.