Annual Reporting Requirements

 

Keep your school data current with the State Board of Education

 
 

Academic Year Requirements for Private Schools

Washington private schools need to provide 180 days or 1000 hours of education for their students.
To learn more about how Washington defines a school day, go here: https://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=392-121-033
 

 

Private schools are required to submit reports each year to comply with Washington state law.

  • Annual approval is through the State Board of Education each spring, typically in March.
  • The Behavior and Weapons report is filed using OSPI’s application through the Education Data System (EDS).  It was suspended under COVID but was re-implemented in the summer of 2022 for the 2021-22 school year. Moving forward, the EDS weapons report portal will open for private schools June 1 – July 31. Look for an email to be sent to all schools from the State in mid-May.
  • Enrollment and staffing report collects the October 1 student count by school for PreK-12th grade private schools.  Submitted through an online portal, typically mid-October through mid-November each year.
  • Private school participation in Federal Programs, through the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), opens in mid-March and closes in April.  Review OSPI’s Brief Description of Private School Equitable Services and contact the Equitable Services in Federal Programs Ombuds Julie Chace or Shelia Gerrish with questions.
  • Immunization reporting through the Department of Health will begin on November 1 and end on December 1 for the 2022-23 academic year.
  • Schools should use the Private School Change of Information Form to ensure that their Head of School contact, email support staff, physical address and other pertinent details for communication stay current with the State Board of Education.  Failure to do so will result in missed communications for the required annual filings listed above.

 

Fingerprinting and Background Checks

WA State law authorizes approved private schools to require their employees to get a full background check through the Washington State Patrol (WSP) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Schools can get this done for existing and new hires through the ESDs.  Many private schools do this for every employee every 5 years and for all new hires.

 

Clock Hour Provider

The Professional Certification Office at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) requires an annual application to be an approved Clock Hour Provider for the subsequent school year.  The application window typically opens in February and must be completed before Aug 1 – no extensions granted.

Complete the 2023-24 Clock Hour Provider Application by August 1, 2023. After submitting the application, you will receive an automatic confirmation. If you do not receive a confirmation, please contact Kelli Adjepong.

 

WA School Bus Driver Rules

Washington State law requires that anyone driving a school bus must have a commercial driver’s license (CDL) Class B or C (depending on the size of the school bus) with a CLP-S – School Bus Endorsement. Please review the OSPI School Bus Driver Handbook for all details.  WAC 392-143-010 defines “School bus” to mean every vehicle with a seating capacity of more than ten persons, including the driver, regularly used to transport students to and from school or in connection with school activities.

 

School Health Care support

The DOH School Module is an online registry of immunization records available to all public and private schools for FREE. The system is secure and easy to use for tracking student school-level immunization information. Here is a list of schools already using the School Module. If your school is not a current user and you are interested in getting access or have a question about the School Module, please email schoolmodule@doh.wa.gov.

 

Security Personnel on Campus

Here are the laws on who can be on your campus and act as security. There is a lot of information in the various RCWs. The training for School Resource Officers refers to public schools but is considered best practices, so likely this is what an insurance provider will expect.