Agencies and Committees
WFIS represents the interests of private schools on agency boards and working groups and serves as the official liaison organization for independent schools with OSPI and the Department of Early Learning.WFIS Agency and Committee News
Free COVID-19 tests for private schools via school districts
The US Department of Education has announced that individual nonpublic schools, institutes of higher education, community-based organizations, and IDEA Part C providers are encouraged to partner with a district to order FREE COVID-19 tests on their behalf. Orders will...
Health & Safety in Schools
Anonymous Threat Response Guidance for K-12 Schools The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently released the Anonymized Threat Response Guidance: A Toolkit for K-12 Schools. This new resource outlines steps school leaders can take to assess...
Health and Safety Guide for K-12 Schools in Washington State
The newly updated Health & Safety Guide for K12 Schools in WA State includes recommended "best practices" and the WACs informing what schools must provide. OSPI and DOH created this newest guide as a "working document" that will be updated based on user feedback,...
OSPI School Safety & Student Well-being meeting
WFIS has been a long-standing member of the School Safety & Student Well-being Advisory Committee (SS-SWAC), which the legislature enacted in 2019 to support "non-firearm measures to increase school safety and student well-being." The quarterly meetings aim to...
Enrollment Reporting for Private Schools opens October 2nd
The Enrollment Reporting window opens on October 2nd and closes on November 1. A link to the online report form will be emailed to the Head of School and also available on the SBE website. The Excel Enrollment Worksheet is a preparation tool, not the report itself....
Sickness testing kiosks open across the state
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH), in partnership with Local Health Jurisdictions and Tribal Nations, initiated a program in 2024 to set up testing kiosks across the state, providing free COVID-19 and flu tests and other healthcare supplies. This program...
PESB September Board Meeting in Spokane
WFIS attended the September Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) meeting in Spokane on September 19-20, 2024. TJ Romano, the Spokane Diocese's new Director of Catholic Education, joined us on Friday. WFIS Executive Director Suzie Hanson, on behalf of private...
WFIS strengthens relationships with Spokane Education Leaders
This week, WFIS visited Spokane to attend the Association of Washington Business Legislator's reception, connect with early learning and K12 advocates, and watch the OSPI and Gubernatorial debates live. We also prioritized connecting with local private schools and...
Phishing Scam attempt with SBE happens again
Earlier this week, many private schools received a fake email asking them to update school information for the State Board of Education (SBE). Most schools caught on to the roos, and SBE quickly provided an alert notifying school leaders of the scam attempt. WFIS...
SBE Approval Certificates are now available
Scroll through the PDF of your approval month to find your school's 2024-25 State Board of Education Approval Certificate: June 2024 PDF of Approval Certificates August 2024 PDF of Approval Certificates September 2024 PDF of Approval Certificates (to be posted soon)...
About our work
WFIS representatives work with State Agencies, including the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), The Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF), The Department of Health (DOH), and others to advocate for the particular needs of private schools.
WFIS representatives communicate regularly with WFIS leadership and member schools so that dialogue includes the needs of private schools.
WFIS works directly with the executive directors of the accreditation organizations in Washington to protect the integrity of accreditation and our schools. We refer to these leaders as “Constituency Leaders” and rely on their in-depth understanding of their schools to guide WFIS’ policy decisions.
WFIS is in Olympia during the legislative session, building relationships with Legislators and their staff, collaborating with lobbying organizations with similar goals, and reading and contributing to legislation to ensure private schools are considered when law is crafted and passed.