The Educational Staff Associate category includes Speech Language Pathologists, School Psychologists, Counselors, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Social Workers, Audiologists and Nurses.
Resources for Educational Staff Associates:
- ESA Certification information for obtaining or renewing your certification.
- Special Education and Institutional Directory provides directory information for OSPI staff, ESDs, School Districts and Institutions.
- Provision of Specially Designed Instruction. We are frequently told by ESA personnel that they are a related service and do not provide specially designed instruction. However, the regulations indicate that ESA personnel may provide either SDI and or related services. Related services are defined as those services that enable the student to benefit from SDI. For example, if you are consulting with the teacher or providing supports for the student to use in the learning environment, you are a related service provider. If you create goals for the student, based on their evaluation, which require instruction on a skill not provided in the general education curriculum, it is specially designed instruction. You may provide the SDI yourself, or delegate the provision of services to another provider, but the time spent on the instruction will appear on the IEP Matrix as SDI.
- Accessible Educational Materials.
- Assistive Technology in the IEP is a decision-making protocol to determine the use of assistive technology. You can also request support from the Special Education Technology Center which provides consultation with school teams, hardware and software to support student learning.
- Washington Sensory Disabilities Services (WSDS) is here to assist children who are deaf or hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired, or deaf-blind, by providing assessment services, training and other support to children, school districts, families and service providers.
- OSPI Evaluation and IEP Technical Module. The content of the module is intended to assist special education staff in developing sufficient evaluations and properly formulated Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) that improve instruction.
- Supporting Student Mental Health: Resources to Prepare Educators
- OSPI Technical Assistance Paper No. 2 Revised: Discipline Requirements for Students Who Receive Special Education Services
- Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports promotes Cultural Responsiveness and provides resources to use PBIS in online education.